Heat forces Salzburg food businesses to adapt

Persistent heat and dry conditions are raising costs and changing working hours at food businesses in Salzburg, ORF reported. Small and large companies are using more electricity for cooling and production, while some have shifted work to cooler parts of the day.

Desiree and Wolfram Marius-Hofmann sell about 20,000 Innviertler Goldhaubenknödel dumplings each week from their business in Seekirchen in the Flachgau region. They supply restaurants in the region and now work in the basement because temperatures inside become too high during the day. Production begins at 5 a.m. throughout the summer.

The business operates two cold rooms. Its blast-chilling room previously ran only during production, but rising temperatures now mean it must also be used when goods are taken out of the storage room. The additional electricity is increasing costs, prompting plans to install a photovoltaic system next year, said Desiree Marius-Hofmann, the company’s managing director.

The Woerle dairy in Henndorf, also in the Flachgau region, is facing high costs for cooling milk, managing director Gerrit Woerle said. The company has already expanded its cooling capacity and is trying to use its energy twice. Woerle also said the company had resolved its water issue with the municipality of Henndorf, although the high temperatures remained challenging. More flexible working hours are also being used.

Drought-related crop failures and shortages of animal feed are affecting farmers and have already reduced milk deliveries, Woerle said. Some regions are particularly affected, with farmers considering giving up some of their cows. Woerle expects around 5 percent less milk to be available for processing in autumn and winter.

Ice cream producers, however, are benefiting from the heat. Daniel Ehrlinger, managing director of the Eiswerk ice cream plant in Mittergöming in the Flachgau region, said sales were rising significantly. The summer has been exceptional because there have been no major cold spells so far.

The plant has added shifts, shortened holidays and increased production to maintain deliveries. Its facility, located for the past two years on the former site of the Oberndorf printing works, was designed with energy efficiency in mind. Waste heat from its cold-storage and deep-freezing systems is used to heat water for production and cleaning.