Giving the best for the region – this is the motto and the mission of AGRAVIS Mischfutter Ostwestfalen-Lippe GmbH in Minden. There could hardly be a better site for an agricultural location: the Minden compound feed plant of AGRAVIS Mischfutter Ostwestfalen-Lippe GmbH is situated on two waterways, at the intersection of the Weser River and the Mittelland Canal. It is also very close to two motorways and a railway. For 50 years, feedstuffs for cattle, pigs, poultry, horses and rabbits have been produced in and for the region at the Minden location. The plant also produces premixes and mineral feed. With an annual production capacity of around 250,000 tons, the logistics for the supply of raw materials and feedstuff distribution are among the most important competitive factors.
“Notwithstanding our long tradition, we see ourselves primarily as a modern company that has been serving our customers for 50 years," explains Gustav Große-Gödinghaus, one of two managing directors in Minden alongside Torsten Vollweiter. They are both fully committed to customer focus and closeness to customers. Nine field staff support a total of 24 distribution partners and over 4,300 farmers.
Keeping customer needs in mind
The two managing directors pay particular attention to customers' expectations with regard to the quality and cost of compound feed. Defined quality management processes ensure that all requirements for safe feedstuffs are met. The plant in Minden also produces cattle and poultry feed with the "VLOG tested" seal according to the certification standard issued since September 2016 by the Verband Lebensmittel ohne Gentechnik (VLOG) (Association Food without Genetic Engineering) for feedstuffs that are classified under EU law as not genetically engineered and which have been checked by independent bodies. "It is our mission at AGRAVIS to deliver the highest quality in the GM-free feedstuff segment too," says Große-Gödinghaus.
"We support farmers as a competent partner," say the two managing directors, explaining that increasing challenges caused to some extent by the new Fertiliser Ordinance are leading to a demand for, in particular, comprehensive feed concepts such as "Feeding the Future" for feed with much less N and P, which helps to reduce nutrient excretion.
Well-established employee team
The experienced team in Minden is fundamental to the plant's successful work. Alongside AGRAVIS Mischfutter Ostwestfalen-Lippe GmbH with 43 employees, the site is also the location of the AGRAVIS subsidiary VitaVis GmbH with 10 employees and the AGRAVIS Minden regional warehouse with nine employees. "The production team is really multicultural," says Torsten Vollweiter. The latest addition to the team is a Spanish apprentice. In the other teams too, there is a mix of experienced colleagues and career starters. “We welcome everyone and do our very best to look after them well," says the director, describing his successful model. "The last two or three years have seen big changes in the workforce in Minden. Many long-term employees have retired. But we were able to fill the vacant positions with our own trainees," Torsten Vollweiter is pleased to report.
