German-based dairy giant Hochwald is now number five in the national milk processors’ league. This Rhineland-Palatinate orgaqnisation announced a 10% increase in turnover for 2010 to EUR1.2 billion. Milk processed by the UHT and coffee cream specialist topped 2 billion kg for the first time last year. But there’s even better to come, CEO Dr Karl-Heinz Engel says. “Already, our 2011 results January to end of May show an increase in exports of almost 22% over the same period in 2010. By the end of this year we expect definite growth under the present market conditions and a total turnover of EUR1.3 billion.”

Hochwald has also announced an investment programme of EUR100m in the coming three years, including EUR16m for new cheese making facilities where some 400 m kg milk per year is to be processed into mozzarella and other pasta filata cheeses, mainly for the dairy’s export markets.