The name Gottfried Siebenförcher has stood for traditional South Tyrolean craftsmanship of the highest quality since the year 1930. The company’s focus is on the production of the finest meat and sausage products as well as bacon and ham, and it has long relied on state-of-the-art systems technology from Schröter for this purpose.
Artisanal Quality from South Tyrol
When Gottfried Siebenförcher founded the family business in Merano, Italy, it was the beginning of a long success story. The company’s top priority is processing and supplying premium meat and sausage products that meet the highest standards of quality. Today, it has a total of around 180 employees who manufacture a wide range of products. This includes products such as cold cuts and meat loaf, meat spreads, aspic, various sausages including Kaminwurzen and Landjäger, as well as salami and ham, including as a cooked specialty. In addition, the company also offers belly and back bacon, salted and smoked meats, and various raw cured meats. In addition to South Tyrol, its main markets include Trentino, the rest of Italy, and German-speaking countries.
Siebenförcher produces his bacon according to this time-tested South Tyrolean method. And as a long-standing member of the South Tyrolean Speck Bacon Consortium, the company is allowed to use the coveted “Südtiroler Speck g.g.A.” protected geographical indication. The traditional method of processing and smoking using smoke from beech wood shavings and juniper berries gives the bacon its texture and unique taste.
Today, Thomas, Barbara, and Florian Siebenförcher run the family business in its third generation. The youngest son Florian is responsible for production. He was also the one who contacted Schröter during his studies at the State Vocational School for Meat and Food Processing Technology in Kulmbach. This resulted in the two companies completing their first joint project back in 2010. “Maintaining a close business relationship over the span of many years allows us to plan together for the long term,” says Florian Siebenförcher, citing a clear benefit. “As such, we’ve already discussed further expansion plans within the scope of our most recent orders. This means that all of the future installations have already been predefined, including all of the media connections.” The THERMICjet®hot-smoking systems are installed as in-line systems, and now separate the areas for unprocessed and finished products. The CLIMAjet®-MAS climatic smoking systems are located one floor down. This is where the climatic maturing, smoking, and post-maturing processes for the meat and ham products take place. All of the systems are connected to Schröter’s Intouch process visualization system to ensure that all of the processes and maturing sequences can be viewed and tracked at all times.
The THERMICjets® are programmed with all of the company’s boiled sausage and boiled ham products. The CLIMAjet® systems are equipped with a multiple airflow system (MAS). Siebenförcher uses this ingenious multi-channel technology for vertical and horizontal airflow to precisely mature his Landjäger and Kaminwurzen sausages to the predefined weight. Florian Siebenförcher explains: “Not only can we process these goods exactly to the predefined weight, we can actually complete production to their final weight. This completely eliminates the post-maturing step.” This is how the company produces meat and sausage products of the highest quality today, just as it did 90 years ago.
Interview
Since our products mature to the exact predefined weight thanks to the Schröter’s multiple airflow system, we can guarantee consistently high quality at all times.
Florian Siebenförcher, general manager of Siebenförcher G. u. T. & Co. OHG, talks about his many years of experience with Schröter Technologie GmbH & Co. KG.
MeetingPoint: Why did you select Schröter?
Florian Siebenförcher: My first contact with the company was during my studies at the State Vocational School for Meat and Food Processing Technology in Kulmbach. During my internships, I familiarized myself with the Schröter systems at the technical center. And I also met a meat technologist who initially worked for Schröter after his training in Kulmbach. To this day, we have a very friendly relationship with Schröter.
MeetingPoint: How many projects have you implemented and how long did the current project last?
Florian Siebenförcher: We ordered the first system back in 2010. We’ve progressed through a total of three expansion stages so far. We ordered the third system in December 2018. Schröter first presented one of its THERMICjet® hot-smoking systems at the IFFA in Frankfurt in May, then it was subsequently shipped to Merano. We’ve been using it for our production since the end of June 2019.
MeetingPoint: What do you particularly appreciate about Schröter’s systems?
Florian Siebenförcher: Since we use a Panel PC solution, the controls are extremely intuitive and user-friendly. In addition, all of the systems have been precisely configured to our individual requirements. This is why we consistently produce highly uniform products. Last but not least, the systems are easy to clean and don’t require much maintenance.
MeetingPoint: Mr. Siebenförcher, thank you very much for your time.
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FOUNDED: In 1930 by Gottfried Siebenförcher, headquartered in Merano, Italy
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EMPLOYEES: Approx. 180 in 2019
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DIVISIONS:
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Production: Artisanal production of premium meat and sausage products at the production facility in Merano Maia Bassa
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Restaurant service: Wholesale business for restaurants and retailers throughout South Tyrol and large parts of Italy as well as German-speaking countries, with the company’s own products as well as other meat and sausage products
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Retail: Butcher’s shop and delicatessens in Merano and Bressanone
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PRODUCT RANGE:
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Sausage products: Cold cuts and meat loaf, meat spreads, aspic, Frankfurter sausage, Kaminwurz / Landjäger sausage, salami
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Bacon: Belly and back bacon, salted and smoked meats, various raw cured meats
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Ham: Smoked and cooked specialties Meat
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SÜDTIROLER SPECK G.G.A.: Member of the interest group for more than 25 years; a total of 29 authorized manufacturers of Südtiroler Speck g.g.A.
