Gerhard Steinwender is originally from Austria. The manager of Vogtlandmilch GmbH has a few things in common with the Vogtland people.

“I like the people very much, they are not chatterers, they do not use big words, but when they say something it usually is persistant”, he explains. He also does not like to be the center of the attention. No wonder that he feels at home in the Vogtland region. In 2011 he was appointed by the District Administrator Dr. Tassilo Lenk to be ambassador of the Vogtland.

The Austrian dares a new beginning

During the summer of 1992 the now 62 year old Carinthian moved to Plauen. At that time the dairy company in the North borough of Plauen was not doing so good. They were experiencing economic difficulties.

“From the beginning on I was convinced, that it would be worth it to build up a pure East German business with the help of the local milk producers and to go our own way”, says Steinwender. He initially worked at the Südmilch/Sachsenmilch Group. Now he is responsible for 135 employees at the Vogtlandmilch GmbH. Even though Gerhard Steinwender does not like to attract attention, he holds all threads. During the last years a lot of investments were made. Altogether three big new production buildings were added. Nearly 230 million kilograms of milk from about 250 dairy farms within the Vogtland region, Western Saxony and Eastern Thuringia get processed into dairy products belonging to the Vogtlandweide and Sachsenland brand every year. The manager also enjoys these products: “My children are major customers too, they love drinking milk and eating quark.”

The Allgäu of the East as a New Home

Gerhard Steinwender is not a man of wasted words: “If I like the Vogtland? Of course, otherwise I would not have stayed for so long.” But a man of carefully chosen words:

“It still remains my vision: the Vogtland with its perfect nature and the locally produced agricultural goods has opportunities to become the Allgäu of the East in the perception of the consumers. Especially since we also have to offer internationally regarded winter sport events and endless kilometers of cycle and walking paths through untouched forests. I wish for further development of the gastronomy so that we will be able to boost the continuous marketing for our region.”

And about his responsibility at Vogtlandmilch GmbH he says: “You have to earn trust. The cooperation with the people in the company, the partners and the owners of the company was always defined by mutual trust and respect. I have a good connection with the people here.”

The Vogtlandian mentality has grown on him: “I never regret that I became half of a Vogtlandian even though I still can not manage the accent.”

Vita Gerhard Steinwender

• 1952 born in Carinthia, Austria
• grew up and went to school in Carinthia
• dairy science-based training and studies in Baden-Wuertemberg and Bavaria, Germany
• since 1992 manager at Vogtlandmilch GmbH
• Managing Director and Vice-Chairman of the Saxon Food and Beverage Employers’Association
• board member at the Saxon State Control Association
• married, two daughters

Links

• Vogtlandmilch GmbH