For the episode, see Madrigal.

Madrigal Electromotive GmbH is an enormous, multifaceted manufacturing, construction and shipping conglomerate headquartered in Hannover, Germany. They are considered "highly diversified" with the nearest corporate office in Houston, TX.

Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (abbreviated GmbH, comparable with Limited Liability Companies in the U.S.) is a type of legal entity very common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Central European countries. The name of the GmbH form emphasizes the fact that the owners (Gesellschafter, also known as members) of the entity are not personally liable for the company's debts.

Judging by Madgrigal's size and diversity, they likely have an economic revenue measured in the billions.

About

Madrigal is the parent company of all Los Pollos Hermanos franchises in the US. This fried chicken chain has its own chicken farm and industrial laundry near ABQ. Besides delicious pollos, the company manufactures industrial-grade hepa air-handlers and other large industrial equipment. Gale Boetticher verified delivery of one of these air-filters for use in the superlab. This very expensive air handling equipment ($300,000) has left no trail of invoices, odd for a German company. The Company has an equipment depot in ABQ; likely one of many across America, Europe, Asia, and the World. Madrigal also imports and distributes large quantities of industrial chemicals from China into the United States. Shipments of methylamine arrive at the Port of Long Beach in California (likely indicating a corporate office in Los Angeles) and are sent via the Southern Transcon Santa Fe Railroad to pesticide interests in Texas and Oklahoma. It is likely that Madrigal has a fleet of ships to sail these chemicals in bulk across the Pacific Ocean as well as to ship equipment across the Atlantic from Europe to America. They may also have aviation cargo capabilities.

History

Season 3

Los Pollos Hermanos TV Commercial(02:33)
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The first appearance of the company was in a Los Pollos Hermanos television advertisement. Fine print appears during the ad that says "Los Pollos Hermanos Inc. is a registered trademark of Madrigal Electromotive GmbH" ("Kafkaesque").

Season 4

A reference to the company is also contained within the Lab Notes found by police in Gale's apartment.

After assisting in the investigation into Gale's murder, Hank explains the company's status to his former DEA colleagues. He also describes that when he began making inquiries into the purchase of the air-filter delivered to Gale he discovered there was no record of who actually purchased it and, eventually, he was stone-walled by a corporate attorney ("Problem Dog").

Hank discovers the industrial laundry that hides the superlab is owned by Madrigal Electromotive as well, and notes that such a location would be a good place to hide a meth lab ("Crawl Space"). He has earlier appraised the high grade filter as perfect for a meth lab, but he has not yet able to connect Gus to the laundry operation. Hank is looking hard for that Madrigal hepa filter.

Season 5

After shutting down all connections with Los Pollos Hermanos, the executive in charge of Madrigal's fast food operations, Peter Schuler, committed suicide using a defribrillator at Madrigal's corporate office. The CEO and other members of the board then flew to Albuquerque to pledge their complete cooperation to the DEA's investigation of Gus Fring's meth distribution network. Lydia, a Madrigal operative based out of the American southwest, contacted Mike to assist her in killing off 11 members of Gus' former network in order to silence any further ties to Madrigal. ("Madrigal")

The DEA visited Lydia at her office in Houston and arrested warehouse foreman Ron Forenall for his compliance in the Fring drug ring. The next evening, Jesse and Lydia attempted to steal a barrel of methylamine but stopped when they noticed a GPS until attached to the bottom. ("Fifty-One")

After Mike's death, Lydia proposed a deal to Walt: sell Blue Sky to the Czech Republic via Madrigal's vast resources to help take the DEA pressure off Albuquerque. This partnership turned out to be flawless and worked smoothly until Walt decided he was done selling meth altogether. ("Gliding Over All")

Trivia

• The word "madrigal" comes from the latin for "womb" and is defined as "a part-song for several voices typically arranged in elaborate counterpoint and without instrumental accompaniment." Madrigal is also a surname in Spanish-speaking cultures.
• The apparent owner and president of the company tells the DEA that his grandfather founded Madrigal. In the credits of the episode he is listed as "Herr Herzog" (Mr. Herzog) and played by Wolf Muser.