The path in the direction of climate neutrality presents small and medium-sized companies with great challenges and requires know-how that is often missing in SMEs. In the qualification project “Decarb4sme+”, which is accompanied by the Ecoplus Food Cluster Lower Austria, nine companies in the food industry work together to build up the necessary skills in order to meet the requirements of climate neutrality. One of the businesses is the Hager St. Pöltner Bakery, the governor Johanna Mikl leader together with Ecoplus authorized representative Petra Patzelt.
“Lower Austria is known for its cuisine and the excellent food. A company that has been up to our great tradition since 1907 is the Sankt Pöltner Bakery Hager,” said Mikl-Leitner when visiting. At the same time, the company is also on the move with a lot of innovative strength towards the future “and thus exemplary for the many family -run traditional companies, which we are rightly proud of in Lower Austria.” She also emphasized: “Companies like the Hager bakery with its 12 branches secure important jobs on site. This makes you make a valuable contribution to the quality of life in our regions and thus also for the best future for our children.”
On the way to the future, the company also benefits the offers of the Ecoplus Food Cluster Lower Austria. The Hager bakery is a cluster partner of the very beginning and actively supported the network idea from the start. Managing Director Wolfgang Hager: “For us, sustainability when shopping in the region and daily cheeks begin directly in the branches. We not only keep quality, but also a tradition – as a lived contribution to a sustainable future.”
The Hager bakery is currently also a partner in the qualification project “Decarb4sme+”. “Decarb4sme+ gives us the opportunity to get to know new technologies and sustainable solutions. The exchange with other companies helps us to work even more specifically to bring sustainability to each of our products. We are particularly looking forward to our first electrical delivery vehicles that start in January 2026,” explains Alexander Hager, who is responsible for marketing in the company.
The “Decarb4sme+” project is funded as a “innovation camp” as part of the qualification offensive of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) from FFG. It was initiated by AEE Intec, the Institute for Sustainable Technologies, and the Ecoplus Food Cluster Lower Austria. “As a business agency in the state of Lower Austria, it is one of our core tasks to create the best possible framework conditions for our companies with that of the Food Cluster Lower Austria. We support companies along the entire value chain. Our goal is to act as an innovation engine and thus to increase competitiveness and added value in the food industry in the long term,” says Ecoplus Repra Patzelt.
The Ecoplus Food Cluster Lower Austria is co -financed by the European Union via the “NÖ Innovation Ecosystem” project.
Further information: Ecoplus Economic Agency, Mag. (FH) Markus Steingrandl, phone 02742/9000 196 19, email m.steinmassl@ecoplus.at
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