Greens call for new plant after Ardo closure
Friday 16th October 2026 on 13:15 in
Austria
The Greens have proposed a cooperative and a new frozen vegetable plant following the planned closure of Ardo’s factory in Groß-Enzersdorf, ORF reports. They want about 500 vegetable producers to join the cooperative, alongside Raiffeisen, Agrana, retailers and the state.
The party says the producers should form a cooperative first, which would then establish an operating company with Raiffeisenlandesbank Vienna-Lower Austria and Agrana. The state’s economic development agency, ecoplus, should provide a suitable plot so a modern, energy-efficient plant can be built within just over a year, the Greens said.
Green Party parliamentary group leader Helga Krismer also urged retailers Spar and Rewe to switch fully to domestic production. The Greens plan to present their proposals at next Thursday’s state parliament session.
Agrana suggested the former sugar factory site in Leopoldsdorf on Thursday as one possible part of a broader solution, saying it could provide land and other infrastructure. The company does not intend to enter frozen vegetable production.
Spar executive Markus Kaser told the Kleine Zeitung that Ardo’s closure announcement had caught him by surprise and was “a shock”. He said Spar had agreed within two days with Schneider’s Gemüseland, another company based in Groß-Enzersdorf, that it would produce more for the retailer. The company will also take on more vegetable growers and invest in expanding production capacity, he said.
Ardo announced the closure at the end of September. The factory, which produces frozen vegetables for brands including Iglo and the own-label ranges of Billa, Hofer and Spar, is due to close by the end of August 2027. The closure affects 190 employees, and a social plan is being prepared; another 50 workers are employed through agencies.
Ardo says it processed produce from about 270 farmers in Lower Austria in 2025. The Tiefkühlgemüse producers’ organisation, which supplies Ardo, has 500 member businesses. Ardo has said the Groß-Enzersdorf factory is no longer economically viable.