As Schell’s prepares to celebrate its 165th anniversary in New Ulm, the brewery recognize employees with over 20 years of experience. L to R: Darwin, Kjelshus, Patrick “Hammer” Davis, Kathy Rathmann, Ann Bauer, Jeremy Kral and David Reinarts.

NEW ULM – Schell’s Brewery is celebrating its 165th anniversary this Saturday. The celebration is meant to honor Schells as a whole, but it is also a time to recognize the longtime employees who have kept the brewery running. Schell’s is fortunate to have several employees who have worked with the company for 20 years or more.

Recently the brewery wished to recognize Kathy Rathmann, Jeremy Kral, Ann Bauer, Patrick “Hammer” Davis, Darwin Kjelshus and David Reinarts, all of whom have worked at Schell’s for 20 or more years.

David Reinarts will be a 20-year employee at Schell’s this September. He began working in a bottle house on the production line in 2005.

Before coming to Schell’s, Reinarts worked at a restaurant and said he needed a change. At the brewery, he did not need to work weekends. Now he remains at Schell’s for the atmosphere.

“Every job has its ups and downs, but Schell’s is a fun place to work,” he said. “It’s not big so you know everyone.”

Reinarts said the biggest in his two decades is increased automation, which has made the work easier. Kjelshus began working at Schell’s in 2002. He was hired on when the brewery acquired the Grain Belt brand. Before Schell, he worked in metal fabrication, brake presses and CNC machines. In his 23 years with the brewery, he has worked in the bottle house. He agreed with Reinarts that automation was one of the biggest changes at the brewery. The layout of the brewery has changed as well as the number of people on the line.

Kjelshus also likes the atmosphere of working at Schell’s and with fellow employees. He said it was nice to step outside and see the brewery garden and the peacocks.

Patrick “Hammer” Davis began working with Schell’s 29 years ago in 1996. He began working in the bottle house, before moving to 1919 filling, followed by the filter room and is now back in 1919 filling.

Davis originally came to Schell’s because of his friends, several of whom were already working at the Brewery. He estimated that half his softball team already worked for Schell’s and he might as well join.

He cited the Grain Belt expansion in 2002 as the biggest change to the brewery during his time. This significantly changed the physical look of the brewery.

“The walls had to expand somewhere and we did not have much room for expansion,” Davis said.

Ann Bauer began working with Schell’s in 1994 shortly after moving back from Germany. She saw an ad in the newspaper and decided to apply.

“Because I had been in Germany for four years and Schell’s being so German, it seems very interesting,” she said.

Bauer worked in Schell’s office for 27 years. For the last four years she has worked in a management role.

“When I first started working here we had one computer that only ran payroll,” she said. “All the accounting books were done here by hand. That evolution of computers just never stops.”

Bauer cites the working environment and co-workers for why she has remained at Schell’s for 31 years.

“The people in this room became like a work family,” she said.

Kral began working at Schell’s in 1991. He started working fermentation, but quickly was promoted to a manager and has been in that position ever since.

“Some of the biggest things was when we purchased the Grain Belt Premium label,” Kral said. “We overnight had to increase capacity and employees. It was an overwhelming experience, but Schell’s powered through it.”

“There really are no two days that are the same,” Kral said. “At the end of the day, even the challenging days and fun and interesting.”

Rathmann is one of the longest-serving Schell’s employees at 48 years. She began working in Schell’s office in 1977 while still in high school. Casey Marti, the mother of Schell’s President Ted Marti, called the school looking for students who had taken accounting classes. Rathmann had enough school credits to start working at the brewery and she has remained ever since.

Rathmann has witnessed numerous changes at the brewery since its inception. When she first started, the brewery had a hydroponic greenhouse that she would visit in the morning. She has seen nearly every piece of brewery equipment get changed or updated.

“It was returnable bottles when I started,” Rathmann said. “There were not a lot of cans back then.”

Rathmann stayed with Schells for nearly 50 years because of the variety.

“It never really was an office job because you never sat at the desk all day,” she said. “Either went in the plant, went into the garden, delivered tomatoes to different towns.”

Rathmann also appreciates the family support. Schell’s had a unique day care option. When she was unable to find day care for her kids, Casey Marti would take them and watch them in the Schell’s mansion.

Of course, her favorite part of the job was her fellow employees.

“I work with these guys,” she said. “What else needs to be said? Every day is interesting.”

Schell’s Brewery Vice President Kyle Marti said it can sometimes seem like a cliché, but they do try to treat everyone at Schell’s like family. He said sometimes it can seem like the brewery is slow to change, but that is because it’s not just about the beer they produce but the people who work for them and the New Ulm community.

“The people are not just numbers to us,” Kyle Marti said.

Ted Marti, arguably the longest-serving employee at Schell’s, credited the local community for the brewery’s longevity.

“I’ve always believed in local support,” he said. He remembered Schell’s going through difficult times when nationally, the locally sourced beers struggled to compete against the big brands, but New Ulm continued to support them.

In recent years Schell’s has benefited greatly from outside tourism. Ted Marti said tourism has always been a part of the business. He said his ancestor August Schell built the garden to bring people in. The brewery expanded on the garden because it is something few other breweries have.

“What we have here you can’t replicate elsewhere,” Kyle Marti said. “There is no substitute for time.”

Looking to the future, Schell’s is looking for new ways to expand within a limited space. Kyle Marti said part of that means offering special events and celebrations that share the brewery’s story.

The Schell’s 165th Anniversary Party celebration will feature music, food trucks, free tours, and Schell’s beer. The celebration is 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Kyle Marti encouraged people who have never taken the tour to check it out. The brewery is committed to being part of the community for another 165 years.

“We’re here for the long haul,” Ted Marti said.