Berkel is a Dutch-origin brand whose history begins on 12 October 1898 in Rotterdam with the founding of Van Berkel's Patent Company Ltd. by Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel (born 1869, Enschot). Van Berkel, a butcher and passionate mechanic, developed the world's first mechanical meat slicer: a device with a large circular concave blade, a flywheel and an automatically advancing carriage — the mechanical reproduction of the hand-slicing motion. By 1899, 84 machines had already been produced. Within a few decades the company grew into a global concern with its own factories in Denmark (1905), Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland (1909), USA, South America, Germany, France (1911), England (1913), Italy (1924, Milan), Canada (1929) and Spain/Portugal (1939). In Italy the company at its peak employed 1,780 workers, 350 staff and 920 sales agents across 4 factories, 115 showrooms and 205 shops. Since 2004/2006 the Berkel brand has been in the hands of an Italian ownership group; today Van Berkel International (VBI) operates with headquarters in Italy, a strategic base in Miami and a knife production facility in Maniago (Veneto). VBI is part of the Rovagnati SpA group.

Iconic status: the characteristic red flywheel meat slicer became an absolute design icon and cult object — sought by collectors, antique dealers and interior designers; used in exclusive delicatessen shops, high-end hotels and restaurants and private kitchens. International awards: gold medals at world exhibitions including Nord-Hansen 1904, Hamburg 1907, Lyon 1913, San Francisco 1916, Paris 1937. Current product range: Volano (B114, iconic flywheel machine — Made in Italy, lacquered aluminium, stainless steel accents, 32 cm chrome-plated blade, 11 thickness settings), Home Line 250, Pro Line XS25, electric slicers, knives (Maniago production, Del Ben factory), kitchen scales, vacuum sealers, kitchen accessories. Second brand: OMAS. Distribution in over 100 countries.

For architects, hospitality planners and interior designers who treat kitchen equipment as a design statement, Berkel is the only brand that combines 125+ years of design history with the status of an iconic cult object — from professional tool to a fully-fledged design element of top gastronomy and luxury living.