A strong, cross-BU project with a multi-stage, investment plan in the tens of millions for Altenburg, Perleberg, and Grossostheim. Retail, Beef and Pork are working together on a regional supply chain (BBC) in the eastern federal states. 

Our regional structure is what makes Vion strong in Germany. The Retail, Beef and Pork business units will be exploiting this potential further in the future – including in Eastern Germany. The grand vision is encapsulated in the motto: from the region, for the region. Going forward, Vion will supply the regional food retail trade with processed and pre-packaged beef and pork from a single regional source. This plan for eastern Germany is another systematic step following our Building Balanced Chains (BBC) strategy. And it also meets the demand from dedicated food retail partners for more locally and regionally sourced products in these federal states.

Multi-stage implementation: Starting in Altenburg

A large proportion of the investments have already been made over the past two years. The new cattle slaughter line at Altenburg has been in operation since 2021, and as of August 2022, this location is supplying our retail customers with processed and packaged fresh meat.

The following measures are being implemented, or have already been implemented, to achieve our planned closed regional supply chain (referred to as "BBC East"):

• expanding meat cutting, processing and packaging at our Altenburg location;
• extending state-of-the-art cooling technology for the pig abattoir at our location in Perleberg, Brandenburg;
• commissioning nine new fully automatic case-ready lines (for the producers Vemag, Dealpac, Cabinpant and Marel), to produce fresh pre-packaged beef and pork products in Altenburg, as well as Grossostheim in Lower Franconia.

The five machines being commissioned for our Altenburg location will be equipped with innovative technology such as automated packaging, high-speed portioning, precision dicing and high-performance mincing. Four of the lines will increase future production capacity at our Grossostheim location.

Developing a close partnership with the food retail trade

"Our strong position in Eastern Germany, experience of regional cooperation elsewhere, and our demand-driven supply chain strategy makes us one of the strongest food retail partners in these federal states of Germany," explains Philippe Thomas, our COO for Retail, in a recent press release. The expansion of production capacity for processed and packaged fresh meat at our Altenburg location makes it an important linchpin between production and trade. "The delivery of fresh shelf-ready beef and pork products from a single source (including organic) meets the increasing demand from regional food retail programmes, reduces our CO2 footprint, and improves animal welfare due to shorter transport times. By involving regional farmers in establishing short, sustainable supply chains, this investment will secure our futures together as the most significant regional beef and pork supplier in Eastern Germany," our COO for Beef, David De Camp, explains. This wonderful joint project shows once again how important good collaborations are between our business units, both in terms of strategy and operations – something within the interests of Vion Food Group as a whole.