Page 20 - Hafen Hamburg Magazin

■ PORT OF TASTE
WASSERBURG SEEN FROM THE WEST: THE STRIKING SPRAY TOWERS (R),
A NUMBER OF TANKS FOR RAW MATERIALS AND THE COMPANY POWER STATION (L)
20 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2020
Bavarian products for markets worldwide
With sausages sizzling on the grill and vegetables simmering away, barbecues have long been far more than merely a trend. For Germans, they have become ever more varied and sophisticated. And one name belongs to the routine: MEGGLE. Filled baguettes or herb butter – for many cooks, these classics from the venerable Bavarian firm are a ‘must’. Yet it’s not just for barbecues that MEGGLE is indispensable. The company is equally respected for its lactose. We report on a hidden champion from Upper Bavaria whose products go out to the whole world, frequently via Hamburg.
Wasserburg am Inn. MEGGLE is deeply rooted in the idyllic little town on the threshold of the Chiemgau district. The company was founded there as a cheese dairy by Josef Anton Meggle I in 1887. MEGGLE Group is now one of the region’s largest employers. 1000 staff daily give of their best at the company’s base. On average they have worked for 13 years, while awards for 40 years of loyalty are by no means rare. MEGGLE is strongly tied to the local Wasser- burg economy. Its silver tanks and towers define the Western edge of the town. The firm’s impressive site catches the eye from far off.
LACTOSE FROM WHEY
The group with a worldwide total of around 2800 staff is renowned for several products besides its herb but- ter – for its lactose, for example. Lactose is gained from the whey derived from making cheese. In Was- serburg, several elaborate steps are used to turn this into milk sugar, or lactose.
First of all, for example, the water needs to be re- moved from the initially liquid whey, and such further elements as protein or fat separated out. This is done in the striking towers that can be as much as 50 me- tres high. A very fine, dry powder remains: Lactose. For the Functional Products Division, this is one of its most important lines. MEGGLE is among the world’s leading producers of pharmaceutical lactose.
In the health industry, it is used as the carrier or ‘coat- ing’ for the agent itself, - in tablets or capsules, for ex- ample. MEGGLE lactose is often used in inhalers,
e.g., asthma sprays. This serves as the ‘means of transport’ for the active substances. The powder mix- ture known as the ‘formulation’ consists mainly of lac- tose.
Although the carrier material constitutes the bulk of the mixture, in this form of dosage the lactose itself has barely any effect on the human organism. When breathing in a power mixture comprising the lactose and the agent through an inhaler, the two substances separate, and so the medicament can reach the lungs. Without the lactose, the agent would form a lump and congeal much earlier and would therefore fail to reach its desired goal, the airs sacs, or alveoles.
ALL OVER THE WORLD IN BIG PACKS
MEGGLE is also a big hitter in the food processing in- dustry. The firm produces milk and whey proteins, fat powders and whipping agents. Like lactose, these are fine white powders – packed in big bags or sacs. These products are distributed throughout the world. Once packed, the powders initially leave the central warehouse by truck, then continuing by rail to sea- ports – largely in Northern Germany. Hamburg is the top port hub. MEGGLE products leave there in con- tainers for ports all over the world.
Achieving revenues of 922 million euros in 2019, the group owns over 20 sites in Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Du- bai, among other centres. Products bearing the MEG- GLE clover leaf include lactose and protein products – or naturally the herb butter so popular among barbecue enthusiasts. ■
© MEGGLE