Uckermärker Milch to refocus on value-added products

06-Jul-2017 - Last updated on 07-Jul-2017 at 07:07 GMT

Uckermärker Milch is stopping production of curds as it concentrates on other products.

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German company Uckermärker Milch GmbH, part of Switzerland’s HOCHDORF Group, said it is to reposition itself in the market.

HOCHDORF CEO, Dr Thomas Eisenring, said the company will concentrate on high-value products and markets in the future, further extending its market position with butter, buttermilk and refined milk powders.

It plans to stop curd production at the end of October, a decision the company said is due to the operation no longer being profitable.

HOCHDORF plans to target investment in new production technologies for high value-added products.

Expiring, temporary contracts and natural fluctuation should mean there will be very few redundancies, the company said.

All permanent full-time members of staff will be transferred to continuing production areas.

Dairy decline

While HOCHDORF increased its earnings in the 2016 business year, its dairy ingredients division did not fare as well, although Uckermärker Milch did post positive results.

The division achieved gross sales revenue of CHF 401.9m ($415.9m) in 2016 (compared to CHF 415.4m ($430m) the previous year).

This figure comprised the Swiss dairy business at CHF 211.8m/$219.2m (-6.9%), HOCHDORF Baltic Milk UAB at CHF 19.8m/$20.5m (-21.7%) and Uckermärker Milch at CHF 170.3m/$176.2m (+4.7%).

HOCHDORF attributed the lower turnover to the low price of milk and the challenging market situation.

The higher turnover at Uckermärker Milch was due to the sharp rise in the price of butter in the second half of the year, and the more attractive price of buttermilk.

At 271,700 tonnes of milk, milk permeate, buttermilk and cream, Uckermärker Milch processed 8.4% less liquids in its facilities than in the previous year.