Lower Austrian company faces ruin

45 trucks under water: “The situation is a disaster”

The AstroKalb company's premises were completely flooded by the storm - damage running into millions is to be expected.

(Bild: AstroKalb)

"The situation is a catastrophe for us" - the flood reached a high of 1.80 meters at Austria's best-known meat processing plant, AstroKalb. 45 trucks fell victim to the floods, and the total damage is expected to be in the millions (see video below). However, the insurance company only pays out a minimal amount.

It's not just residents in Lower Austria who are lamenting the damage caused by the storm in their own homes - the first reports from the infrastructure in Lower Austria also show the unimaginable extent of the damage.

"Everything, simply everything, is under water. The entire production facility is flooded, we now have to see that we can at least halfway maintain operations," Thomas Maurovich, Managing Director of the Lower Austrian meat company AstroKalb, told the "Krone" newspaper. The well-known Austrian company has switched to emergency operation. 

Millions in damage - 45 trucks under water
The ongoing severe storms in Austria have hit the renowned meat processing company, which is regarded as the country's leading specialist for veal, hard. The company, known for its high-quality veal, lamb and beef products, is completely flooded due to the extreme weather conditions and the resulting flooding.

The AstroKalb company's premises were completely flooded by the storm - damage running into millions is to be expected.

(Bild: AstroKalb)

45 trucks are currently under water. The towing service is working at full speed.

(Bild: AstroKalb)

The storms caused chaos on the AstroKalb factory premises on an unimaginable scale.

(Bild: AstroKalb)

Maurovich expects damage running into millions. Not only is the area around the manufacturer with a fleet of 45 company vehicles badly damaged, "the inside of the production facility was also completely flooded with a maximum level of 1.80 meters," says the managing director, visibly distraught.  

The meat products are also affected - worth 700,000 euros.

(Bild: AstroKalb)

The situation is devastating, as the floods also caused a power cut and the refrigeration for the meat can no longer be maintained. The result: "We can throw away all of the food," says Maurovich.

A drop in the ocean, but still: the company is well connected in the area, "we help each other to continue production and delivery as best we can," confirms the head of the meat plant. Suppliers from the Netherlands are instructed to drive directly to the customers, others go to partner companies or are diverted completely.

Only 200,000 euros insured
The company's insurance is particularly lamentable. The insurance only covers a maximum of 200,000 euros for storm damage, which "would have been completely different in the event of a fire, where at least two million euros would have been covered", according to AstroKalb.

The sum insured will probably be nowhere near enough: Around 700,000 euros worth of goods had been destroyed by the flood, and according to AstroKalb, 1.5 million euros had been lost on the renowned company's modern machinery alone. "Our last hope is a subsidy from the state and federal government, otherwise we don't know how we can cope with this amount of damage," says Maurovich. 

Empty shelves in Vienna
In the meantime, many customers in Vienna's supermarkets are wondering why some shelves are completely empty - although this is unlikely to be directly related to supply bottlenecks. So what's behind it? "Around 40 percent of employees in our warehouse didn't show up for work on Monday because they were affected by the flooding themselves," says Spar spokeswoman Nicole Berkmann.

The storm disaster in parts of Austria caused the employees to reorganize the delivery of goods. At the moment, however, "operations are running almost normally again and all stores are being supplied. There are enough goods, the supply is secure," explains Berkmann.

Supermarket customers are surprised at the empty shelves.

(Bild: Martina Münzer, Krone KREATIV)

The company Wiesbauer Gourmet, also based in Reidling, has apparently also been badly affected by the severe storm damage, according to its website. When asked by the "Krone", the company did not want to comment on the current situation for the time being - the shock is obviously deep-seated there too ...