Sustainably increased capacities

For the Uelzena Group, 2023 was a year for sustainably strengthening its production base: Technologies, processes and quality measures were further optimised in order to respond to increasing demand, while still striving to meet future-oriented environmental challenges. Investments were made at all sites, focusing on efficiency and the organisation of work, expanding existing plants or adding new.

Future-proof production established

The Uelzena Group keeps its production equipment at the cutting edge of technology so as to limit negative effects on the environment as much as possible. As part of digitalising the energy management system, software was chosen that would automatically record data relating to electricity, fuel, steam, compressed air, ice water, wastewater and fresh water at the Uelzen site via measuring points. It was also important to consider the automatic and universal availability of performance data and key figures to various user groups, and the ease of deriving appropriate measures from this data. In Warmsen, the company launched a new operating system to simplify and optimise processes within the company group. A shop floor management system was introduced at the Ratzeburg site, also with the aim of improving processes. By improving the understanding of the production processes, each employee can assume responsibility and help optimise the processes. 

Investment projects successfully implemented

Year after year, the group invests in measures at its four sites to make production more efficient, productive and cleaner. A welcome effect: These measures improve the input-output ratio, reduce the energy and resources used per product unit, and the entire Uelzena Group produces fewer emissions. In Uelzen, once the new spray drying tower was complete and test runs successful, regular production could commence. At this site, the new wastewater treatment plant was also able to reduce the wastewater load in the reporting year and this increased water treatment capacity also made a significant contribution to sustainable water management.  Spray drying in Uelzen was converted to kosher and halal production, with the exception of one spray tower, which will simplify the future certification of these towers. Storage capacities at the Warmsen site were expanded for the time being by erecting a storage tent. This eliminates any future logistical challenges and the associated extra work. A sugar silo was commissioned in Ratzeburg, rendering it unnecessary to handle more than 2,000 tonnes of Big Bag goods and the corresponding consumables. In Bismark, the new cheese dairy construction was postponed. However, preliminary infrastructure investment was maintained. This included the initial building work to extend the milk intake capacity, the energy generation unit with the construction of the ice water plant, and a flotation plant for cleaning process wastewater. 

Outlook for 2024

The next few years will also be characterised by investments in all sites. The aim is to improve efficiency, quality, expand capacity and focus on sustainable energy generation and use, so as to continue to operate independently and successfully in line with market requirements. Another topic that will be advanced in 2024 is the introduction of an environmental management system. 

Sustainability context: The necessity of a sustainable production strategy

The Uelzena Group is a medium-sized industrial enterprise that predominantly processes milk raw materials into food products such as butter, milk powder or cheese. In 2023, we produced and sold a total of 230,000 tonnes of products – most of which were made from milk. Refining is an intense process and requires a high input of natural resources including fresh water and natural gas as an energy carrier. At the same time our sites produce greenhouse gases, wastewater and waste.

Examples: Greenhouse gases. With CO₂ emissions of just 37,247 tonnes in 2021, the Uelzena Group is not one of the major emitters nationwide. CO₂ emissions per tonne produced could be reduced by 38 percent since 2012. Nevertheless, Uelzena is committed to contributing towards reaching climate protection goals. The German government has decided to become climate neutral by 2045.

The Uelzena Group keeps its production equipment at the cutting edge of technology in order to limit negative effects on the environment as much as possible. Year after year, the Uelzena Group invests in measures to make its four sites more efficient, productive and cleaner. A welcome effect: The measures improve the input-output ratio, reduce the use of energy and resources per product unit whilst the entire Uelzena Group produces fewer emissions.

Our management approach: Production

Energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions, waste and wastewater are the key sustainability topics for our production. In particular the company’s stakeholders are interested in learning how the Uelzena Group handles these topics. Stakeholders include food industry customers, employees, authorities and the shareholders of Uelzena Group as our members as well as residents living close to our production sites.

The production department actively pursues relevant sustainability topics. Our objectives are to continuously reduce emissions and consumption of resources per ton of product produced, while increasing productivity at the same time. In order to achieve these objectives, several measures have been developed and implemented.