News – 2026-02-04
RATIONAL celebrates two milestones: 50 years ago, the global market and technology leader in thermal food preparation launched its first combi oven. Combining heat and steam in one unit has fundamentally changed the way professional kitchens work. The 1.5 millionth combi oven rolled off the production line just in time for this occasion. The anniversary unit, which features a golden dial, was donated to the St. Nikolaus Children’s Hospice in Bad Grönenbach.
RATIONAL presented its first combi oven, the CD 101, in 1976 — three years after the company was founded by Siegfried Meister. The combination of steam and convection enabled chefs to use a variety of cooking methods, such as roasting, baking, and steaming, with just one appliance. Four years later the CD 201 came out, the first floor-standing combi oven to meet the demands of large kitchens with high production volumes.
This laid the foundation for five decades of continuous development, from the introduction of the ClimaPlus Combi (1997), the first combi oven with precise climate control, to the SelfCookingCenter (2004), which could adjust settings automatically, to the iCombi Pro (2020), which achieves the desired result automatically at the touch of a button. Each generation has introduced innovations that continue to make working in professional kitchens easier, more efficient, and more sustainable.
The clear goal behind all these developments has always been to offer customers the best appliance for cooking. “Thanks to our high production volumes, we are able to achieve a high degree of automation in manufacturing and assembly and to use technologies that are far from standard in our industry. This ensures that every unit meets the exceptional quality and durability our customers expect,” says Martin Hermann, Chief Technical Officer at RATIONAL. Profit maximization is not the company’s priority; instead, RATIONAL focuses on maximizing customer benefit — a principle firmly rooted in the corporate culture through the ‘bottleneck-concentrated strategy’. The numbers show that this strategy continues to work: around 50% global market share for combi ovens, around 180 million meals prepared daily in RATIONAL appliances, and, just in time for the 50th birthday, 1.5 million combi ovens produced.
"50 years of RATIONAL combi ovens and 1.5 million units are not just figures, they are an expression of the high level of satisfaction and trust that our customers have placed in us worldwide for decades. We’re proud of that. It motivates us to continue prioritizing customer benefit," says Markus Paschmann, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at RATIONAL.
The anniversary unit featuring a gold‑colored control dial was presented by Markus Paschmann and Martin Hermann to the St. Nikolaus Children’s Hospice in Bad Grönenbach, where children with terminal illnesses and their families receive comprehensive support throughout the stages of illness, end of life, and bereavement. RATIONAL deliberately chose to donate this special anniversary model to a place where invaluable work is carried out for families every day — and where freshly cooked, delicious meals help create a sense of care. “We are extremely grateful for this gift,” says Marlies Breher, Chairwoman of the Süddeutsche Kinderhospiz Foundation. “It helps us reliably make a small but meaningful part of the day possible.”