Your partner in biotechnology for 35 years
Lactosan developed from a regional company into a globally active specialist in the production of lactic acid bacteria. A biotechnological success story was and is being written in the middle of a region that is home to mainly metal-processing companies.
Lactosan GmbH was founded 1989 in Kapfenberg, Austria, by pioneers in agricultural biotechnology. The idea was to produce lactic acid bacteria for use as probiotics and starter cultures for silage, farms and feed manufacturers. The initial product range consisted of just two items.
The decisive year in the company's history was 1994. H. Wilhelm Schaumann GmbH & Co KG (Germany) saw great potential in the production of lactic acid bacteria for silage and probiotics in animal nutrition and acquired Lactosan. Target-oriented investment and consistent development led to successful products within a short time.
After the takeover by Schaumann, successful marketing of the products led to rapid growth in production. Soon the location became too small and a first expansion of the production facility was undertaken.
This was followed by significant expansions to meet the growing demand for silage additives and probiotics in 2002/03. By adding the fluidised bed drying system, a new drying technology additionally to the freeze-drying system was integrated into the company.
Lactosan's quality system has also been continuously improved. In 2002, our company was first certified in accordance with ISO 9001. Since then, this certification has been audited and renewed every two years.
A few years later, the company was also certified for the first time in accordance with the requirements of FAMI-QS, the world's leading quality and feed safety management system for the speciality feed ingredients sector.
Despite the previous investments, it was foreseeable that the constantly growing range of products and customers, together with the ongoing integration of production processes such as can and bag filling, would soon push the company to its capacity limits again. In addition, it is Lactosan's philosophy to prepare in advance for increasing quality standards. The expansion, which began in August 2005 and was completed in the spring of 2007, was therefore a further investment in future developments.
The largest investment in the company's history to date is a milestone for Lactosan, paving the way for new business areas. The new fermentation plant in a separate building now enables large-scale production of biocatalytic enzymes for industrial biotechnology. This expansion also includes modern research and development laboratories and a technical centre.
Lactosan Pharma is the company's third and most recent business area. This fourth phase of expansion, initiated in 2009 and completed in October 2011, enables Lactosan to offer customers the production of lactic acid bacteria as APIs under GMP conditions through its own pharmaceutical line.
Continuously increasing capacity and expanding business areas result in increased staff and laboratory requirements. The fifth extension provides sufficient office and laboratory space to ensure quality and stay ahead in R&D.
Since 2014/2015, Lactosan has met the requirements to offer kosher and halal certified products.
In 2015 also Lactosan International, sales company for all Lactosan products that are not related to the agricultural sector, was established.
The FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification 22000) is a globally recognised certification of a comprehensive food safety management system. Lactosan was certified under this system for the first time in 2019.
After 3 years of construction, building A6 went into operation in 2023. With this largest expansion stage to date and the associated massive increase in fermentation capacity, Lactosan can meet the constantly increasing demand for its products in the most modern way and is ideally equipped for the future.
