Gunder Mulkeri: Preparing the Session for the 90th Birthday Celebration

GMUNDEN. With a turnover of around 206 million euros, Gmundner Molkerei has managed to close the challenging year of 2020 positively. In addition to strengthening institutional management, several projects have been successfully completed. Determining the path that will make Gmundner Dairy fit in the coming decades.

2020 was a special year in every respect. The company managed to achieve a strong increase, especially for long-life products. Long life milk sales increased by 11% to 160 million packages. An evolution influenced by both the domestic market and the export market. But not only Corona, but also the acquisition of new clients such as EDEKA in Germany or projects in Italy has been the driving force behind this development. Michael Widacher says, “Even if we were feeling a painful slump in gastronomy, we were able to take advantage of developments in increased private consumption“ at home. ”For example, declines in coffee fractions of around 35% were met well by positive sales developments. For example in the cheese sector. Above all, cheese slices and naturally mature cheeses like Gmundner Berg Premium have seen good increases both nationally and internationally. Here we managed to achieve an increase of more than 10% with major clients. But projects like “FairHof” with a company HOFER has also developed well: two more types of cheese have been introduced to the market.Meanwhile, approximately 9 million kilograms of milk is marketed in animal welfare programs or 14.5 million kilograms of milk is of organic quality.

For 2021, the company’s management expects a difficult development. “We are aware of the growing fatigue from the Coronavirus in all markets, which also affects consumption. Thank God we enjoy a wide position, and therefore we can interact with various market developments,” adds Waidacher.

A new double lead at Gmundner Dairy

Harald Doppler has been serving as an additional managing director for approximately six months. Doppler, who can draw on years of experience in the food sector, will in the future be responsible for the areas of finance, strategy, marketing, quality management as well as agricultural advisory. Born in Linz, he has so far established himself in international companies such as Procter & Gamble, as well as in family businesses with regional roots like Spitz. “As always when you are new to a company, you first bring in a strong external perspective. In the past six months, in addition to our daily business, we have conducted a comprehensive analysis together as a team and projects drawn from the results!

In addition to corporate-wide strategic analysis, we are already working on various projects in the field of brand management, IT, and key person management. “We are at the start of a common path, but I would like to thank my team for the good reception in the company and the openness to new things,” adds Doppler.

Collaboration: pooling strengths and taking advantage of opportunities

The project with the Jäger Dairy was also launched on time at the beginning of 2021. As part of the collaboration, the Bavarian mozzarella company Jäger produces Pasta Filata products at its site in Gmunden. In addition to the rental building to Jäger, Gmundner Dairy also provides an agreed annual milk volume and on-site staff. The impetus behind this exceptional project is the added value of our raw milk. Even if the proportion of so-called mail-in milk has been reduced significantly in recent years, the project provides an important impetus in the marketing concept of Gmundner’s dairy products. Through cooperation with the Jäger Dairy, 50 million kg of milk can be secured on stable terms in the long term. This corresponds to approximately 15 percent of the milk produced by Gmundner’s dairy products. The remainder of the milk is purchased from Jäger.

Both companies remain independent in the cooperation. Corporate law networks are not planned. As a minor member of the cooperative, Milchwerk Jäger has the right to participate in the general assembly. Meanwhile, the plant has started full operation and processing agreed volumes of milk on site in Gmunden into Filata pasta.

Completion of the current construction phase of the Gmondin site

The new construction of a cheese dairy plant or filling stations is part of a comprehensive master plan for the next decade. The first projects were completed on time despite significant challenges. In the next step, the social rooms planned in the project will be completed.

90 Years of Gmundner Dairy: Gmundner Dairy Celebrates Its Birthday!

On June 28, 2021, Gmundner Molkerei will celebrate his 90th birthday. From the start, the company was owned by farmers – farmers who, as they did then and now, process and market their milk through the cooperative. When nearly 40 dairy farmers decided to establish a dairy cooperative in Traunsee 90 years ago, they had a clear vision: to seize the opportunities available in time together! An idea that has not lost ground today in 2021. Since the cooperative’s inception, elected representatives have worked with management on major challenges. Each of the 2,100 members currently has voting rights and thus can influence the company’s development. The strength of this idea which is still entrenched today can be seen in the development of the company.

Together with many dairy farmers throughout Upper Austria, around 360 employees guarantee the manufacture of regional products. This means that tomorrow’s customers can still be sure that they can enjoy their food in the shortest way possible and with the highest quality. The company celebrates its birthday with great focus, which started over Easter and will continue until summer. In addition to a limited edition of our anniversary cheese, there are various services such as contests and promotions.