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Agrana closes two sugar factories in Austria and Czech Republic Agrana has announced the closure of two sugar plants in Leopoldsdorf The decision forms part of a strategic realignment to achieve long-term stabilsation and competitiveness for domestic sugar production The company’s entire sugar production in Austria will shift to its site in Tulln with a goal of focusing entirely on the Austrian market sugar production will be concentrated at Agrana’s Opava site The Leopoldsdorf site will remain in place as a logistics hub with sugar to be stored in the existing silos and packaged there Agrana said it is developing additional future scenarios for further potential economic use of the 70-hectare site in the short-term These closures will impact around 270 employees 120 of whom work in Leopoldsdorf and around 150 in Hrušovany The company said it is providing them with extensive support including retraining and qualification programmes opportunities to take jobs at other sites within Agrana and individual redundancy packages as well as advice on professional reorientation One focus is on supporting regional labour forces in the surroundings of the sites Agrana’s decision was based on an evaluation of current economic and regulatory conditions increasing competition due to a decline in sugar consumption across the EU regulatory requirements and market liberalisation – including the Mercosur agreement and sugar imports from Ukraine – have made it ‘economically unviable’ to continue production at the two sites the company said in a statement announcing the closure the current sugar market would not allow for the production volumes to make the operation of the affected sites viable in the medium-term said: “It was a difficult but unavoidable decision to close two production sites especially because we are committed to sugar production in Central and Eastern Europe” He added: “We are taking this step fully aware of our responsibility for Austria as a sugar production location we want to create a stable and lasting basis for a sustainable Austrian production Our aim is to make Austria a robust sugar production location.” Get in touchWould you like to be interviewed by FoodBev Media or share a recent innovation with us?  Click here to contact us This decision was made by the Agrana supervisory board in its meeting today the company unexpectedly announced on Wednesday The closure affects around 120 employees in Leopoldsdorf and about 150 in Hrušovany The decision to close two production sites was "difficult but necessary," said Agrana CEO Stephan Büttner in a statement This measure is "an important part of the strategic realignment of the company aimed at achieving long-term stabilization and competitiveness of domestic sugar production." Rising production costs increasing competitive pressure due to the decline in sugar consumption in the EU and regulatory requirements have made the continuation of production at two sites each in Austria and the Czech Republic "economically untenable," explained Agrana all Agrana sugar production will in the future take place only at the Tulln site and in the Czech Republic only at the Opava site The sugar factory in Leopoldsdorf had already been on the brink of closure in the past due to insufficient beet quantities and the beet farmers announced a "sugar pact" to secure the factory in Leopoldsdorf To fully utilize the factories in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf according to information from May of the previous year a sugar beet cultivation area of 38,000 hectares in relation to the corporate strategy then being developed that Leopoldsdorf was "not up for discussion." The plant was built in 1901 and 1902 as a raw sugar factory it was converted into a white sugar factory sugar was delivered mainly to the processing industry in bulk and packaged form The Agrana site in Leopoldsdorf is to remain as a logistics hub For the 270 employees affected by the plant closures the sugar company plans to provide "extensive support measures." These include retraining and qualification programs opportunities to take up positions at other Agrana sites as well as individual severance packages and career counseling for professional reorientation "The closure of Leopoldsdorf is a massive cut for domestic agriculture," said the President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture The beet farmers now face "significant challenges both economically and in terms of their long-term planning security." The head of the SPÖ Lower Austria called on the state government of ÖVP and FPÖ to preserve the industrial area in Leopoldsdorf The FPÖ Lower Austria saw the closure as "another declaration of bankruptcy of the ÖVP's economic policy." Ukrainian sugar is entering Agrana's sales markets it is "currently not possible to sell the sugar produced in Austria beyond domestic needs in these regions as was the case in the past," explained the association "The Beet Farmers." Therefore Agrana has "drastically reduced" the beet areas for cultivation in 2025 our domestic sugar company sees no prospect of market improvement in its eastern markets," said the beet farmers' association The common goal with Agrana remains "to continue ensuring self-sufficiency with domestic sugar from Austrian sugar beets," said association president Ernst Karpfinger the beet farmers hold nearly 15 percent of Agrana This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here The Local Europe ABVästmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden A bear was seen in the municipality of Ried im Oberinntal (Landeck district) on Wednesday, according to ORF A woman encountered the animal while out for a walk There have been no reports of damage or unusual behavior Authorities confirmed this was the second sighting in the area within a week Beekeepers in the region have been advised to secure their hives with electric fences which the province will provide for free upon request Officials urge the public to report any further sightings Austrian food and agribusiness company Agrana announced the immediate closure of two of its four sugar production plants, citing rising costs and declining sugar consumption, according to Die Presse The shutdown affects around 120 employees at the Leopoldsdorf plant in Lower Austria and 150 in Hrušovany CEO Stephan Büttner stated the move was necessary to maintain long-term competitiveness The company pledged support for affected workers including retraining programs and job placement assistance Westbahn expands with new Vienna-to-Carinthia route For the first time, private railway company Westbahn will operate on Austria’s southern rail corridor, offering five daily services between Vienna and Villach starting March 1st, 2026, as reported by Kleine Zeitung The expansion aims to provide an alternative to ÖBB Officials expect this move to enhance regional mobility and tourism New ÖBB Railjet route to Italy starts in April Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) is launching a direct Railjet connection from Vienna to Ancona, Italy, starting April 17, offering travelers an easier route to popular seaside destinations, ÖBB announced and there will be one daily service in each direction and passengers are encouraged to reserve seats in advance The connection will operate until October 6 as part of ÖBB’s expanded international services Demand for preventive health check-ups rises in Vienna More Viennese residents are taking advantage of preventive health screenings, with participation increasing from 13 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2023, according to ORF the Vienna screening center in Erdbergstraße has grown steadily The facility offers comprehensive check-ups officials are considering expanding telemedicine services Stabbing incident in Vienna’s Favoriten district A violent altercation in Vienna’s Favoriten district left a 27-year-old man seriously injured after being stabbed in the kidney, Kurier reported The fight broke out around 2 pm on Tuesday at Wielandplatz A 31-year-old acquaintance of the victim was also injured after attempting to intervene fled the scene and is currently being sought by police Authorities said the incident likely stemmed from previous disputes High-speed police chase in Floridsdorf ends in crash Two young men were arrested in Vienna’s Floridsdorf district after a high-speed chase ended in a collision with a police car, according to ORF evaded police after running red lights and nearly hitting officers The pursuit ended when the 19-year-old driver crashed into a traffic jam Both suspects face charges of resisting arrest If you have any questions about life in Austria, ideas for articles, or news tips for The Local, you can contact us at news@thelocal.at or leave a comment below Please log in here to leave a comment "The corporate decision to cease sugar production in Leopoldsdorf is extremely regrettable," said PRO-GE head Reinhold Binder in a statement the union has already contacted Agrana's corporate works council head Thomas Buder Both union representatives are pushing for "a socially acceptable solution for the employees." "The most important thing now is to provide the affected workers with prospects for their future working lives," said the PRO-GE head For Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) maintaining self-sufficiency with Austrian sugar has the "highest priority." In Austria the entire Agrana sugar production will henceforth only take place at the Tulln site it is important to continue forging alliances to create suitable safeguard clauses to secure the sugar market," Totschnig explained in a statement to the APA The profitability of Austrian sugar production is "hampered by overproduction in Europe and significant restrictions on plant protection." The Leopoldsdorf sugar factory had already faced closure in the past due to insufficient beet quantities the company requires a sugar beet cultivation area of 38,000 hectares This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here FACC: The Supervisory Board of Aerospace supplier FACC AG resolved to extend the contract of Robert Machtlinger as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for another five years The new term will begin in July 2025 and run through June 2030 the Supervisory Board emphasizes continuity in the company’s leadership and acknowledges the successful performance of Robert Machtlinger over the past years.FACC: weekly performance: -1.31%Agrana: During preparation of consolidated financial statements for the year ended 28 February 2025of of the starch unaudited operating profit of € 76.5 million before exceptional items and results of equity-accounted joint ventures has been identified which is slightly above the upper end of the expected range of € 55 million to € 75 million unaudited operating profit (EBIT) for the 2024|25 financial year (1 March 2024 to 28 February 2025) was € 45.6 million (2023|24: € 151.0 million) and it includes a net exceptional items expense of € 36.4 million This is mainly due to the restructuring measures in connection with the implementation of the NEXT LEVEL corporate strategy and includes impairment losses of about € 17.4 million on assets of the sugar plants in Leopoldsdorf as well as expenses of around € 17.6 million for further reorganisation measures (primarily for staff costs) The Group's preliminary revenue amounts to about € 3.5 billion for the financial year (2023|24: € 3.8 billion).Agrana: weekly performance: -0.45% (From the 21st Austria weekly https://www.boerse-social.com/21staustria (25/03/2025) >> Besuchen Sie 60 weitere Partner auf boerse-social.com/partner This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.