Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG

What Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG does

Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned regional media company headquartered in Unna, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, founded in 1845 and currently led by Hans-Christian Haarmann in the sixth generation of family ownership. The company operates a multi-platform portfolio of print, digital, broadcast, and logistics assets serving the Kreis Unna region and the wider Ruhr area. Its core products include two daily newspapers (Hellweger Anzeiger and Westfälische Rundschau, the latter acquired from WAZ-Mediengruppe in 2013), the free weekly Montakt magazine reaching 94,500-96,500 households, the Das Örtliche telephone directory, the RUHR24 digital news portal, the RUHR24JOBS job board, and Antenne Unna local radio. The company is supported by wholly owned operating subsidiaries: VGU Pressevertrieb (a press distribution logistics network of 201 delivery staff covering 15,500 km weekly), Zeitungsverlag Rubens Druckerei (an in-house printing facility producing approximately 590,000 copies per week with RollStream Ferag insert processing and 32-page full-color offset capacity), and WDD Dr. Faltz & Partner GmbH (a digital agency serving 75+ local business clients).

The business model is diversified across nine revenue streams: newspaper subscriptions (30,000 daily subscribers, 40% reading digitally), print advertising across newspapers and magazines, digital advertising on hellwegeranzeiger.de and RUHR24, radio advertising on Antenne Unna, directory listings on Das Örtliche, job board postings on RUHR24JOBS, professional services through WDD digital agency, B2B press logistics via VGU, and commercial printing. The go-to-market is sales-led, relying on dedicated media consultants (Medienberater/innen) assigned to specific postal code districts and key accounts, with additional distribution through the 2021 mgw marketing alliance with Lensing Media and Medienhaus Bauer for cross-publisher advertising reach. The company employs approximately 600 people and is registered as a GmbH & Co. KG with Rubens GmbH as the personally liable general partner.

Name

Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG

Legal name

Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://rubens.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1845

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Zeitungsverlag Rubens is a sixth-generation family-owned regional media company in Unna, Germany, operating daily newspapers, a free weekly magazine, local radio, digital portals, a job board, press logistics, and commercial printing for the Kreis Unna and Ruhr region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Commercial Printing (2750)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Local media advertising
• Print and digital media
• Press distribution logistics
• Commercial newspaper printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Unna

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Newspaper subscriptions: Daily newspaper subscriptions for Hellweger Anzeiger and Westfälische Rundschau serving the Kreis Unna region, with ~30,000 daily subscribers. Both printed and digital editions generate recurring subscription revenue.
2. Print advertising: Primary revenue driver across newspapers, free weekly magazines (Montakt), and digital platforms. Advertisers include regional businesses, retailers, and service providers seeking reach into local households.
3. Digital advertising and content: Revenue from digital ad placements on hellwegeranzeiger.de, RUHR24, and other online properties. Also includes native content, sponsored sections, and digital event coverage.
4. Radio advertising (Antenne Unna): Local radio broadcasting generating advertising revenue from regional businesses targeting listeners in the Kreis Unna area.
5. Das Örtliche directory listings: Germany's leading telephone directory for businesses, public authorities, and private entries. Generates revenue through premium/paid directory listings and advertising.
6. Job board listings (RUHR24JOBS): Regional online job portal connecting employers with job seekers in the Ruhr area. Revenue generated from paid job postings.
7. Digital agency services (WDD): Digital marketing and web development services through subsidiary WDD Dr. Faltz & Partner GmbH, serving 75+ local and regional business clients with digital strategies, SEO, and online marketing.
8. Press logistics (VGU Pressevertrieb): Newspaper and magazine delivery logistics operations, distributing ~159,500 copies per week through a network of 201 delivery staff. Revenue from B2B press distribution contracts.
9. Commercial printing: Printing services for third-party newspapers, inserts, and printed materials, producing over 590,000 copies per week. Revenue from B2B print contracts.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Zeitungsverlag Rubens is a regional media house that publishes daily newspapers (Hellweger Anzeiger and Westfälische Rundschau), a free weekly magazine (Montakt), a local radio station (Antenne Unna), digital news and job portals (RUHR24 and RUHR24JOBS), and the Das Örtliche telephone directory. It monetizes these properties primarily through advertising sales to regional businesses (managed by postal-code-based media consultants) and through newspaper subscriptions, while also providing B2B commercial printing, press distribution logistics via VGU Pressevertrieb, and digital marketing services through its WDD subsidiary.

Product overview

Zeitungsverlag Rubens operates as a regional media conglomerate offering a multi-platform portfolio of newspaper, magazine, radio, digital, and logistics products. The core offerings include two daily newspapers (Hellweger Anzeiger and Westfälische Rundschau), the free Montakt weekly magazine, and the Das Örtliche telephone directory. Digital products include the RUHR24 news portal, RUHR24JOBS job board, and the Antenne Unna radio station. Supporting operations include VGU Pressevertrieb for distribution logistics and an in-house printing facility. The WDD digital agency extends the company's digital services to external business customers. All products serve the regional market of Kreis Unna and surrounding areas in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hellweger Anzeiger: Daily local newspaper for Kreis Unna region
• Westfälische Rundschau
• Montakt
• Das Örtliche
• Die Digitalisten (WDD)
• Antenne Unna
• RUHR24
• VGU Pressevertrieb
• Zeitungsverlag Rubens Druckerei
• RUHR24JOBS

Products and services

• Hellweger Anzeiger / Westfälische Rundschau Daily local newspapers for the Kreis Unna region covering local news, politics, culture, sports, and service content. Print and digital editions serve ~25,000-30,000 daily subscribers and reach a significantly larger total readership, with 15-40% of readers consuming news digitally via hellwegeranzeiger.de.
• Montakt Free weekly magazine combining local news and regional advertising offers, distributed to approximately 94,500-96,500 households per week from Bergkamen to Holzwickede with 91% household coverage in the distribution area.
• Das Örtliche Telephone directory (print and digital) for businesses, public authorities, and private listings in Germany, with premium/paid listings generating revenue. The Unna edition contains 23,957 entries.
• RUHR24JOBS Regional online job portal connecting companies with skilled workers in the Ruhr area, monetized through paid job postings by regional employers.
• Antenne Unna Local radio station broadcasting 24/7 to listeners in the Kreis Unna area, offering music, local news, traffic, weather, and event information, with advertising sold to regional businesses.
• RUHR24 Digital news portal covering culture, panorama, sports, service, and consumer topics across the Ruhr region; free, no registration required, monetized through digital advertising and reaching millions of users daily.
• VGU Pressevertrieb B2B press distribution and logistics service delivering newspapers and magazines six days a week; the largest and most reliable press logistics partner in the region, covering 15,500 km weekly with 159,500 newspaper copies delivered by 201 carriers.
• Zeitungsdruckerei (Newspaper Printing Services) B2B commercial newspaper printing service with modern offset rotation and RollStream insert technology; prints over 590,000 copies per week with capacity for 32-page full-colour output at over 30,000 copies per hour and up to 11 parallel inserts.
• WDD (Die Digitalisten) B2B digital agency (Dortmund-based, 31 employees) providing internet services such as web development, SEO, digital strategy, and online marketing to 75+ local and regional business clients.
• HA+ App Mobile application extending the Hellweger Anzeiger digital offering with news, live streams, podcasts, debates, and photos in a personalized feed format.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94,500–96,500 households reached weekly by Montakt free magazine with 91% household coverage
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• mgw (Lensing Media, Medienhaus Bauer, Rubens)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Marketing alliance (Vermarktungsallianz mgw) founded in 2021 jointly by Lensing Media, Zeitungsverlag Rubens, and Medienhaus Bauer. The alliance enables advertisers to reach relevant target audiences across multiple regional publishers, contributing to regional economic success.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Axel Springer SE: Germany's largest media company with national newspaper (Bild, Welt) and classifieds (Stepstone, Immonet) portfolios. Relevant as a broad incumbent whose digital classifieds business (job listings) competes directly with regional offerings like RUHR24JOBS.
• Funke Mediengruppe: Largest regional newspaper group in Germany and the former owner of Westfälische Rundschau, which Rubens acquired in 2013. Operates a broad portfolio of regional titles, digital portals, and advertising solutions across NRW and beyond, making it the dominant scale competitor in the same geography.
• Rheinische Post Mediengruppe: Major NRW-based regional newspaper publisher headquartered in Düsseldorf. Operates the Rheinische Post daily newspaper and digital properties serving regional advertisers and readers, with comparable subscription and advertising-driven revenue model to Rubens.
• NOZ Medien: Family-owned regional newspaper group operating daily newspapers (Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung), digital portals, and printing/distribution services across Lower Saxony. Highly comparable in family ownership, multi-platform regional media model, and owned press infrastructure.
• Madsack Mediengruppe: Hannover-headquartered regional newspaper group operating daily newspapers, digital portals, and logistics services across Lower Saxony and northern Germany. Directly comparable business mix of regional print, digital, and press logistics, though in a different geographic market.

Emerging players

• Ippen Digital: Digital-first German media network operating regional news portals and content marketing across multiple metropolitan areas. Represents the digital-native model that traditional regional publishers like Rubens must compete with for digital advertising spend and reader attention.

Direct peers

• Medienhaus Bauer: NRW-based regional media publisher and third partner in the mgw alliance. Operates local newspapers and advertising-driven publications serving regional advertisers in North Rhine-Westphalia, directly comparable to Rubens' core newspaper and free-magazine business.
• Lensing Media: Regional NRW newspaper publisher and member of the mgw marketing alliance alongside Rubens. Operates comparable daily newspapers, magazines, and digital products in adjacent Ruhr-area markets, making it the most direct comparable in scale, business model, and geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zeitungsverlag-rubens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zeitungsverlag Rubens GmbH & Co. KG