Hochland expands its dairy plants and launches comprehensive investment offensive

Hochland SE has released an amount of more than 100 million euros for investments. Extensive construction projects are already underway at many locations in the Hochland Group. In the coming years, production buildings and additional capacities will be created in order to be prepared for further growth.

Over the next few years, a flexible production facility will be built in Dieue-sur-Meuse, France, where different types of milk can be processed into soft cheese, cream cheese, and hard and semi-hard cheese. The plant is set to become a poster child and best practice example in terms of sustainability throughout the group, thanks to its revolutionary processing of recyclable packaging and the reduction of carbon footprint.

In 2021, not only were the milk receiving lanes renovated and the gallery for milk buffer tanks expanded. The soft cheese ripening rooms also underwent renovation, and the wastewater treatment plant was renewed. At last, the construction of a new employee parking lot has been implemented.

In Schongau, ground was broken in mid-March 2021 for the new, fully automated high-bay warehouse. It will be equipped with two climate zones and around 10,000 pallet spaces for refrigerated finished goods, non-refrigerated auxiliary and operating materials, more than doubling our existing storage capacities at the site. Completion is scheduled for September 2022.

The production of Gervais cottage cheese was additionally relocated to Schongau in 2021. To this end, existing production facilities were converted, and new equipment installed. Furthermore, capacities to produce white cheese will be expanded by 2023.

In Heimenkirch, too, all signs indicate growth and expansion: In the inner courtyard, preparatory work has begun on a new shipping building, a high-bay warehouse, and a parking garage with over 700 parking spaces - part of an overall concept with which Hochland is taking its development into its own hands for the next ten years.

But Hochland is not only investing in its sites, but also in the future of milk: In the coming years, an upper range double-digit million-euro amount will be used to further expand our pioneering role, for example in the areas of sustainability and animal welfare, together with our contract farmers. To ensure that this can be implemented effectively, our farmers will receive appropriate supplements on their milk payments.

As a highly innovative company, adapting quickly to the market, we also attend to the wishes of our retail customers. We offer them suitable product concepts and work with them to meet consumer demands. This includes, for example, the creation of greater transparency with the labelling of the husbandry stages and the associated Animal Welfare Milk Program.

With all these projects, we are setting the course for a successful future and strengthening our core business. After all, there is a long-term connection: Today's investments enable tomorrow's sales.

Here you will find the press release for download.