Meat processor Beskydské uzeniny, a.s.’s Chodura brand is highly regarded in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for ham and sausage specialties of the highest quality. Original family recipes and cutting-edge technology from Schröter form the foundation upon which the company with a rich tradition can continue to successfully build/grow in the future.
100 Years of Premium Ham
Karel Chodura opened his renowned butcher’s shop in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 1919. One hundred years later, the name Chodura is a brand synonymous with high-quality ham and sausage specialties. For about 30 years, Petr Chodura has been successfully carrying on his grandfather’s work through the company Beskydské uzeniny. “My grandfather’s business was a great inspiration to me because I knew that, by continuing his work, I would be able to complete the plans that he was unable to carry out after 1948, when the communist regime shut down his business,” Chodura explains.
In 1990, he continued the family tradition of making sausage specialties and opened his first production facility in the former roadhouse in Stará Ves nad Ondrejnicí. In the year 2000, the company acquired a former meat processing plant in Frýdek-Místek and expanded its product range. Today, Beskydské uzeniny employs more than 200 people, making it one of the Czech Republic’s mid-sized meat processing companies. Its wide range of products includes cooked and smoked pork and chicken ham, a large selection of sausages, salami, and seasonal grilled specialties.
In 2019, just in time for its 100th anniversary, the meat processor invested in a new production facility dedicated to the production of Chodura brand ham. “State-of-the-art Schröter technology, twice the production capacity, new workspaces, and more storage space,” says Chodura, describing the advantages of the new location. The new facility is equipped with smoking chambers, cooking chambers, and baking and cooling chambers, all of which meet the most stringent hygiene requirements. The new production technology, together with high-quality raw materials, forms the basis for a new range of ham products with reduced sodium content that the family business launched at the end of last year.
“Our first meeting took place five years ago, when we decided to purchase smoking chambers. We ultimately didn’t go through with it, but when the time was right, we built a new production facility and this time things worked out perfectly,” says Chodura, describing the beginning of the company’s relationship with Schröter.
The deal was closed at IFFA 2019 and personally overseen by project manager Jan Gryc, general manager of Schröter’s Czech representative HG Technic, and Frank Mack, authorized representative of Schröter. “The focus was always on the requirements of the customer’s range,” says Frank Mack, outlining the initial project with the new customer, adding, “Beskydské uzeniny needs equipment for a wide assortment of products. As a result, the company needed different systems with various functions in order to be able to work with them flexibly and use them for different products.” Chodura continues, “This is why we have two four-wagon cooking chambers, three corresponding cooling chambers, a four-wagon smoking chamber, and a three-wagon smoking and baking chamber.” As such, the company has created the basis for additional expansions, should they become necessary as a result of production increasing. “I appreciated the flawless technological solution of all the details right from the start, and I can say within a short period of time that this considerable investment was completely worth it,” Chodura says, highly satisfied with the results of the first project.
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Quality, experience, professionalism – these are the reasons why we chose Schröter.
Petr Chodura is carrying on his grandfather’s work extremely successfully through the company Beskydské uzeniny.
Schröter Representative for the Czech Republic and Slovakia
HG Technik
Schröter Technologie GmbH & Co. KG has made a name for itself worldwide with high-quality hotsmoking and climatic systems. HG Technic, based in Brno, Czech Republic, is successfully active on the Czech and Slovakian markets on behalf of the East Westphalian systems manufacturer. Jan Gryc, general manager of HG Technic since 2015, has been working with Schröter since 2011. He is responsible for sales, expert advice, service, and the installation of Schröter systems in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. When carrying out his duties, Jan Gryc can draw on more than 20 years of experience in the thermal processing of sausage, meat, and fish. This ensures that he can clarify customers’ individual needs in each project and, working in close collaboration with Schröter, offer a customized solution – for the entire range from small hot-smoking systems to large climatic post-maturing systems.
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COMPANY FOUNDING: 1919 in Ostrava, Czech Republic
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HEADQUARTERS: Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic
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LOGISTICS CENTER: Frycovice, Czech Republic
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EMPLOYEES: More than 200
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PRODUCT RANGE: Pork and chicken ham: cooked and smoked, natural and formed, reduced sodium ham, flavored ham, e.g., Honey Ham, Excellent, and Burgundy varieties. Wide range of sausages in natural and collagen casings, grilled specialties, salami
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PRODUCTION AREA: 3600 square meters
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OUTPUT: 35 tons per day
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SALES: Via its own chain of stores throughout the Czech Republic and multinational chains in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
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USP: The company has been offering a range of ham products with reduced sodium content since 2020, thereby shifting its focus to a healthy lifestyle.
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AWARDS: 1993 Business Owner of the Year 2017 Two Chodura products awarded the KLASA food quality mark (awarded by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture) Also received awards in the categories “Regional Food” and “Butcher’s Sausage.”
