Mrs. Wech was delighted by the many greetings received, and enjoyed a great day together with numerous politicians, business representatives, business acquaintances and personnel.
On Saturday July 5, 2008, the WECH group celebrated its 50th anniversary in brilliant sunshine. Presenter Ute Pichler was the mistress of festivities.
50 Years of WECH Poultry
The life’s work of Hermine Wech
“If you’re young, hard-working and have the necessary common sense, you can achieve a lot in life.” Mrs. Hermine Wech is living proof of this motto. She began practically from scratch in 1958, and today she is the guiding light and proud owner of a great poultry company based in St. Andrä in Lavanttal, Carinthia.
Market leadership in Austria
She has worked purposefully and consistently to position Wech as the leading provider of Austrian poultry in terms of quality and innovation. Vertical integration, the transparent closed production chain from the egg to the final product, has always been part of the company’s philosophy. Reliable partners throughout the production chain, fully integrated into the company’s unbroken quality assurance system, guarantee quality and food safety. Special importance is attached to everything which is important for the livestock (foodstuffs) and the consumers; nothing is left to chance.
Income provider for 1000 families
Wech today has three production sites in Austria (one for chickens, two for turkeys), and is a reliable partner for around 300 farmers, who carefully rear the chickens and turkeys. No less than 680 people with their families work for Wech, and receive their earnings reliably and punctually. Wech is therefore the livelihood of 1000 families, a fantastic economic achievement - quite apart from the many commercial and industrial companies involved in all the company’s affairs.
Organic poultry throughout Austria
If you look at the poultry segment of the food industry, there are practically no chicken or turkey products which are not offered and supplied by Wech. The finest fresh meat of all kinds, all the sausage varieties imaginable, smoked and long-life goods, semi-convenience and convenience products. New trends are consistently recognised in good time and special responsibility is assumed when implementing them ahead of the rest. Wech is now therefore the most important producer of organic poultry, marketing its products throughout Austria. The organic chickens and turkeys are reared by Carinthian farmers in compliance with strict ecological guidelines. Freshness and quality are pretty much a matter of course, yet everything possible is done to ensure 100% food safety. Quality assurance programmes and certification according to the International Food Standard are significant elements of our quality control. This means that consumers can enjoy white meat from Wech in safety, especially as it is recommended by dieticians.
Strategic focus on Eastern countries
Market leadership in Austria was not the Wech group’s final objective. Although many people viewed it critically, not to mention lamenting it, the expansion of the EU to include the Eastern countries was welcomed by Wech, which continually had an eye open for opportunities and therefore treated the new EU countries as new markets. Today, Wech has successfully positioned itself in Eastern Europe with sites in Hungary and Slovenia, and has also established itself on their markets. Our foreign expansion is proceeding successfully, and we now employ almost 200 staff. Wech will continue to pursue this strategy with all its strength in coming years, also with the aim of safeguarding the Austrian production sites. Wech is not only moving into the new EU countries in Eastern Europe, but also making inroads into Germany at the heart of the EU as an important export market.
Always with social finesse
Although business
has at times been very hard, the social component has always been an important
part of Wech’s activities. Fair and dependable conditions for our farmers, fair
and punctual remuneration for our personnel, and the best possible fulfilment
of customer requirements have always been important to us, and are some of the
factors responsible for Wech’s success. As a small token of gratitude, we will
be organising a festival in summer to celebrate our 50th
anniversary, to which all staff, farmers and business partners are cordially
invited.
Facts:
Wech-Geflügel group
• 3 production sites in Austria
• 1 production site each in Hungary and Slovenia
• 680 personnel
• 270 farmers as partners
• 45 million kg chicken and turkey products
• 150 million € sales
• Markets: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia
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