Austrian dairy group SalzburgMilch is strategically planning to join forces with local counterpart Pinzgau Milch Produktions.
In a joint statement released yesterday (24 November), the companies confirmed their intention to “deepen their existing collaboration and plan a strategic merger, with the goal of creating a joint company.”
SalzburgMilch and Pinzgau have collaborated on various dairy product lines, but any merger is subject to approval by Austrian competition officials.
Markus Buchmayr, managing director of Pinzgau, stated: “The merger allows us to optimally utilise synergies, implement future-oriented plans, and simultaneously further strengthen the regionality and quality of our products in order to remain successful in the domestic market as well as in the export market, which is so important to us.”
Currently, the two dairies source milk from approximately 3,400 suppliers.
All facilities in Salzburg, Lamprechtshausen, Maishofen, and Kössen in Tyrol will continue to operate and develop further, according to the companies.
SalzburgMilch, the third-largest dairy group in Austria, sources milk from around 2,400 farming suppliers and markets over 600 products.
The company operates production plants in Salzburg and Lamprechtshausen, employing about 450 personnel and processing 331 million kilograms of milk annually.
In 2024, SalzburgMilch achieved sales of €350m ($405m), with more than 40% generated from exports.
Pinzgau, based in Maishofen, serves as a contract manufacturer of dairy products, including drinking milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese. The company reported a turnover of €155m in 2024, with exports accounting for 47% of its sales.
Employing around 250 people, Pinzgau sources its milk from approximately 1,000 farms, with nearly 60% of the milk being organic.
Its facilities are located in Maishofen, Salzburg, and Kössen, Tyrol.
Andreas Gasteiger, managing director of SalzburgMilch, commented: “We are pooling our resources to secure the long-term viability of the farming structure and to keep added value within the region.”
If this deal goes through, it will follow other notable mergers in Europe’s dairy industry within the past year. In April, Arla Foods and German dairy cooperative DMK Group announced plans to merge.
In their joint statement, they mentioned that the merger would create “the largest dairy cooperative in Europe,” encompassing members from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
Last December, Dutch dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina also initiated plans to merge with Belgian peer Milcobel.
The two companies stated that their combined 2023 annual figures—excluding Milcobel’s divested Ysco business—project a pro forma revenue exceeding €14bn.
