Last week, efko invited people to the official opening of the new, state-of-the-art Vitana production facility including distribution center in Guntramsdorf. Guests included Provincial Councilor Mag. Jochen Danninger, representing Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, who was on site in May 2021 for the groundbreaking ceremony for the now completed new building.
Danninger emphasizes Vitana's role as a reliable employer and partner in agriculture. "I am pleased that the new location of the Vitana plant in Guntramsdorf has secured numerous jobs in Lower Austria or created new ones. With the new building, the efko Group is setting a sustainable example for the future of the Austrian fresh food supply and, as an important traditional company, is strengthening the regional economy."
With the completely new building for its subsidiary Vitana, the efko Group is investing in a particularly promising market segment, as the trend towards fresh convenience products is unbroken. "Ready-to-eat salads are becoming increasingly popular with Austrian consumers. Above all, however, the demand for cleanly washed, cleaned vegetables is increasing in restaurants and hotels, where convenience products also bring decisive advantages in view of the shortage of skilled workers," says efko Managing Director Klaus Hraby.
Total investment of 28 million euros
For decades, Vitana Salat- und Frischeservice GmbH has specialized in processing vegetables that are harvested fresh on the day and strictly sorted into ready-to-cook products. In order to meet the requirements of a modern industrial operation in the food sector and to increase the production space, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Vitana plant in Guntramsdorf took place in May 2021. The efko Group invested 28 million euros in the new Vitana building. With the new location, the company also benefits from the proximity to numerous vegetable farmers and ideal transport links.
Around 100 guests gathered in the marquee on the 24,500 m2 Vitana site, including the CEO and CFO of Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Reinhard Schwendtbauer. He sees the new Vitana building as an important step into the future: "The investment of Raiffeisenlandesbank's oldest industrial holding makes a significant contribution to the market-oriented and sustainable production as well as safeguarding of domestic foodstuffs."
State-of-the-art vegetable processing
After the ceremonial opening, the guests were convinced of the innovative production processes during the plant tours. "With the new building, we have created the structural prerequisites for absolutely hygienic, efficient work processes from the outset," explained DI Manfred Rotheneder as the building owner's representative of the efko Group. Separate employee and staff routes via special hygienic airlocks and an overlap-free product flow ensure maximum product safety without chemical aids.
At the beginning of the production chain is an extremely fast and reliable high-tech sorting system. "Imaging processes are used to reliably detect foreign bodies, impurities or, for example, lettuce leaves that do not meet our high quality specifications," says Speiser. The production volume is over 30 tons per day. Vitana has a total of around 500 different products in its range: from washed leaf lettuces and ready-to-cook vegetables to marinated salads and herbs.
The market town of Guntramsdorf in Lower Austria's industrial quarter offers ideal conditions for Vitana's new corporate headquarters: the region with its fertile fields supplies numerous raw materials within short distances. Good accessibility by public transport is an important prerequisite for transferring as many as possible of the more than 100 employees from the old plant in Vienna-Inzersdorf to the new location. And last but not least, Guntramsdorf scores points as a transport hub. "In combination with our sophisticated logistics, the good transport links enable us to supply the entire Austrian market fresh and flexibly every day," emphasizes Vitana Managing Director Markus Pois.
Supply to food retail and catering customers
Vitana processes up to 10,000 tons of vegetables annually into fresh convenience products. Around 100 employees produce fresh and ultra-fresh fruit, salad and vegetable convenience products for food retailers and catering wholesalers in compliance with strict hygiene regulations. Current sales amount to 22.5 million euros.
For more information:
www.efko.at
https://www.vitana.at/
