WOERLE's story
The tradition of the Feinkäserei Woerle goes back to Johann Baptist Woerle, a visionary cheesemaker who set out around 1870 to find ideal conditions for the production of Emmentaler. Starting with the idea of the Purity Law in 1889, 130 years of cheese culture from the hands of a master take their course: Johann Baptist Woerle builds the first Emmental cheese dairy in Flachgau. The prerequisite for the best cheese is the best milk. And that only happens when the cows get the best feed. Since then it has been our aim to preserve small-scale agriculture and to preserve hay milk as the most original form of milk processing.
From the origins of the WOERLE cheese dairy
A look back at the second half of the 19th century: Dairy farming had just been discovered in the German Allgäu, and with it the art of cheese making. Johann Baptist Woerle, a native of the Allgäu, has been a master cheesemaker from the very beginning and registered a commercial cheese trade in Rosenheim (D) as early as 1874. But the sales opportunities are limited. So Johann Baptist Woerle decides to move on to an area where he can devote himself to his great passion – cheese making. With his wife Marie he moves from the Allgäu to the Salzburger Flachgau, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Here the landscape is similar to that of the Allgäu with lush meadows and alpine pastures - an ideal prerequisite for dairy cattle farming and cheese production.
1889
Company founder Johann Baptist Woerle lays the foundation stone for the first Emmental cheese dairy in the province of Salzburg and thus for the first Emmental cheese dairy in Austria to be mentioned by name. The fact that he was soon able to hire experienced master cheesemakers from Switzerland, the Allgäu and Tyrol to make other cheese specialties for his numerous customers in addition to the popular Emmental proves how successful his project was. Johann Baptist Woerle already knew more than 100 years ago what makes the best cheese: Valuable natural hay milk! That is why he issued the Woerle Purity Law in 1889, which has been carefully passed on from generation to generation ever since.
“Connected to nature. Committed to purity. For the love of cheese"
1902
Johann Baptist Woerle hands over the company and the knowledge of the art of cheese preparation to his two sons, Johann and Josef Woerle. "Gebrüder Woerle" is the name of the family business in the front yard of the city of Salzburg and the small cheese dairy has grown into a proudly growing company.
In addition to the increasingly important cheese production, the Woerle brothers were already doing a brisk trade at this time. They supply customers in Rome, Milan, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague and many other cities in Europe with Woerle cheese specialties - made according to Woerle's own recipe and of course strictly according to the "Woerle Purity Law of 1889".
1925
An important milestone for the upswing of the traditional cheese dairy is the acquisition of the former brewery of the "Caspar Moser Bräu" in Henndorf am Wallersee. Finally, the space requirement can be covered. The heart of the building is the four-storey cellar, which offers the climatic conditions to allow the fine Woerle Emmentaler to mature into an absolute treat.
1929
Not only the art of traditional cheese making, but above all a pioneering spirit and the courage to innovate accelerated the rise of the family business. On one of his many trips to Switzerland, Johann Woerle discovered processed cheese, the "cheese fondue to take away". Trusting in the technology, which was largely unknown in Austria until then, a cheese melting plant was set up and the course was set for further export opportunities.
1955
Hans and Martin Woerle take over the family business and continue the upswing with commitment and enthusiasm. The Emmental cheese dairy in Henndorf is modernized and the melting plant is relocated to Seekirchen.
1981
Gerhard Woerle continues to implement the expansion plans and, due to considerable growth rates, founds his own export company. The "Happy Cow" brand was born and quickly became a household name on the overseas market.
The family company Woerle now employs 100 people. Due to the strong further development of Woerle, a state-of-the-art production and administration complex is built in Henndorf. As a result, Woerle is well prepared for the challenges of the future.
2001
Lease of the Mondsee country cheese dairy in Oberhofen. The production of the semi-hard cheese specialties is relocated to the new location and the extensive Woerle range is expanded to include other varieties.
2018
Start of the expansion of operations at the Henndorf site with the construction of a high-bay warehouse and the expansion of the existing production facilities.
2020
Start of construction of the cheese dairy with a planned completion in 2021, so that all production and storage facilities are combined in Henndorf. With the commissioning of this construction phase, we will complete our generation project and have created the basis for being able to shape the future successfully.
WOERLE today
The success continues: Today, the traditional company Woerle presents itself as one of the largest and most modern private cheese dairies in Austria with an international orientation. Woerle's cheese specialties are not only among the most popular in Germany, they are also enjoying increasing popularity in over 70 countries around the world.
