As Karlsruhe grew rapidly at the end of the 19th century, the established building and cabinetmaking company "Billing und Zoller" also moved to the new industrial area at the Westbahnhof railway station. In 1910, it moved into the factory building characterised by shed roofs and the administration building built in the neo-baroque style and produced high-quality interior furnishings there until 1930. In 1933, the "Rohtabakvergärungs-Aktiengesellschaft" was founded as a subsidiary of a Belgian-Dutch group. It used and expanded the site to store and process raw tobacco for the cigar and cigarette industry in Europe. After numerous changes of ownership, production ceased in 2018 and the site was sold to the municipal company Fächer-GmbH. The company sees the "Alte Tabakfabrik" as a key site for the strategic development of the redevelopment area at Westbahnhof.
