Since spring this year, Salzburg Milch in the Itzling district of Salzburg has saved around 15 percent on heating for production. On the one hand, the main gas boiler was replaced and a waste heat utilization system was added. In this way, the steam for pasteurization and other processing steps is generated much more energy-efficiently, says managing director Andreas Gasteiger: “We can save 2.6 million kilowatts of natural gas. That corresponds to around 160 households”.

Milk only needs to be heated and cooled once more

And energy is also saved in milk production. In these cauldrons, the longer-lasting milk is heated to 125 degrees. Here, too, new devices including heat exchangers are in use. All in all, they also bring a lot, confirms the technical area manager Josef Steiner: “Milk has to be heated from four degrees to 125 degrees and then cooled again. Through the investment & we only heat the milk once and cool it once. This saves energy and is gentler on the product.”

Investments in the double-digit million range planned

Since 2015, a project for sustainable energy has been implemented at Salzburger Milch every year. And even now the company is already planning further steps – the aim is to switch completely to renewable forms of energy, such as photovoltaic electricity, biogas or bioheat. Gasteiger also wants to involve farmers. Many are forest owners. Since wood chip systems would offer.

They want to invest up to a two-digit million euro sum in the sustainability of the company. Salzburger Milch has invested around three million euros in the newly installed heat recovery system this year. This investment should pay for itself in ten years. If energy prices continue to rise, this will tend to happen more quickly.