The Milky Way of family Mayer

Job profile and career history of Ing. Josef Mayer

 

On 1st of August 1936 the parents of Josef came from Lower resp. Upper Austria to Weiz to establish a dairy. Josef Mayer sen. built up the dairy of Weiz as manager of the dairy in 1942/1943 and led it until his retirement in the year 1969.

Josef was born in 1943 and after the compulsory school in Weiz he did an agricultural practice at the learning farm Hierzer in Unterfladnitz. As from 1959 he attended the Federal College for Agriculture in Wieselburg (Lower Austria) with the field agricultural engineering, where he graduated with the so called Matura in 1964. Then followed an advanced training course for dairying at the Federal Institute of Dairying in Wolfpassing and a master course in the dairy and cheese making trade graduating with the examination for the master's certificate in 1968. During this period he worked in the bacteriological laboratory of the dairy farm in Linz and then in the dried milk factory of Lactoprot in Hartberg.


As young dairy master he took on the technical management from his father on 1st of March 1969. The development of the dairy of Weiz was quite impressive during the 20 years under his management: 40 million kg milk processing and 1.000 t butter production per year were achieved in the nineties. In that time he was able to gain particular work experience, which are so important to him today. This was the time of the development of e.g. the fruit fermented milk drink MINI-MIX, which he had organised and managed. This drinking yoghurt was then delivered to all Styrian fresh goods delivery.

In the year of 1986 the nuclear accident of Tschernobyl occupied the public. Immediately after the accident had become known, Josef Mayer organised a special selection of as little as possible atomically radiated milk. This campaign led to uninterrupted delivery of our customers and especially of the school children with milk.

In the course of rationalisation measures, which reached the dairies in the early nineties, and as a result of that the dairy of Weiz had been closed. After that Josef Mayer started his activity as independent management consultant with the following emphases in 1991:

- nature protecting production
- product advice
- company organisation in the scope of foodstuffs

“To talk with the farmers and to recognize their concerns and worries, that’s what i have learnt from my father.”

At a meeting of the Styrian school milk farmers in August 1995 he realised that direct marketers of milk have a need of various fruit preparations. In cooperation with a partner from Graz he started the trade with fruit preparations of the Steirerobst company. Because this cooperation hasn’t been really satisfactory he founded together with his wife Elfriede the Ing. J. & E. Mayer OEG at 1st of January 1998. The foundation for the today’s company was laid. From this moment on sales and the number of fruit preparation sorts increased. Cultures, rennet and drinking straws broaden the range. Customers received tips and advice for the production of various milk products, which expanded the customer clientele suddenly. Shipments to Germany and export to Saudi Arabia.

After the entry of daughter and son-in-law, Silvia und Andreas Geyer, the company had been transformed into the Mayer & Geyer KEG in the year 2002, which became then the Mayer & Geyer KG in December 2005 because of the steadily increasing sales.

The MILKY WAY is thus continued by the successors Silvia und Andreas Geyer. A new generation takes on the company, based on the experience of many years in the field of dairy farming, so that the family tradition will be carried on in this sense.

A pleasant continuation of the journey on the white milky way is the desire of Ing. Josef Mayer.