28 jobs affected Mill operator Minoteries closes site in Zollbrück BE
The mill operator Groupe Minoteries is centralizing its production and closing the Steiner Mill in Zollbrück BE in the first half of 2027. 28 employees will be affected.
05.05.2026, 22:06
SDA
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- Groupe Minoteries is closing Steiner Mühle in Zollbrück BE by mid-2027 and relocating production to other sites in Switzerland.
- The closure will affect 28 employees, for whom a social plan is planned.
- The company justifies the move with high investment costs and expects efficiency gains from 2027 as a result of centralization.
The closure of the Zollbrück BE site is taking place "against the backdrop of regulatory and structural requirements", which would involve considerable investment in Zollbrück, according to a press release issued on Tuesday evening. The Group has now decided to utilize the existing capacities and "state-of-the-art resources" at its sites in Granges-près-Marnand VD and Müllheim-Wigoltingen TG.
The organic flours produced in Zollbrück will be centralized at the Granges-près-Marnand site, where a mill for specialty flours is available. Specialties such as semolina, flakes and muesli will in future be produced at the site of Schweizerische Schälmühle E. Zwicky AG in Müllheim-Wigoltingen, which was integrated into the Group in 2025. The restructuring will strengthen synergies between the sites, simplify logistics processes and improve the utilization of existing production capacities, according to the statement.
Steiner Mühle, which is now being closed, has been part of the Minoteries Group since 2011. The site had made a name for itself thanks to its expertise in processing cereals, pulses and seeds under the organic and Demeter labels. A successor solution is being sought for the infrastructure and a redundancy plan will be presented to the 28 employees affected.
The mill operator has now set aside a provision of around CHF 3 million for the depreciation of the residual value of the infrastructure and for the financing requirements of the redundancy plan, according to the statement. This provision will have a negative impact on the result for the current financial year. However, the company's cash flow will not be affected by the extraordinary write-down. The restructuring should lead to an improvement in performance from 2027.
