Germany’s largest dairy cooperative is moving into a new strategic business segment. As Yumda reports, DMK Group has commissioned a lactoferrin production plant at its Altentreptow site, investing 25 million euros in the project.
DMK Group has launched a new production facility for lactoferrin at its Altentreptow site. The 25-million-euro investment marks the cooperative’s deliberate entry into a strategically relevant business segment while further building industrial expertise at the location.
Lactoferrin is a high-quality bioactive milk protein used primarily in specialised fields such as nutrition, health, and pharmaceuticals. Only a handful of companies worldwide have the technological capability to produce lactoferrin industrially at the required quality standards. The new plant reflects DMK Group’s ambition to strengthen its innovation and technology leadership in premium milk ingredients. It plays a particular role in early life nutrition — the feeding of infants and young children — where quality, product safety, traceability, and specification stability are held to the strictest standards.
Strategically planned entry into a demanding market segment
The lactoferrin business fits squarely into DMK Group’s strategic direction, which centres on value creation, diversification, and the development of sustainable products with strong market and innovation relevance. Expanding production capacity in Altentreptow also contributes to regional economic development, job security, and the advancement of modern milk ingredient technologies within the group.
The project was brought to market at a point when technological readiness, market demand and regulatory requirements in target markets could all be aligned. DMK Group’s lactoferrin capabilities are built on years of systematic expertise in protein separation, product safety, stable industrial-scale production, and operating in tightly regulated markets.
“With the lactoferrin plant, we are expanding our portfolio to include a strategically important business segment with high-quality standards and growth prospects,” says Ingo Müller, CEO of the DMK Group. “The plant demonstrates our technological capabilities and the targeted expansion of existing expertise at the Altentreptow site.”
The investment also carries weight for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. “DMK Group’s decision to build a new production plant in Altentreptow is a clear vote of confidence in this location and the wider region. It strengthens regional value creation and secures long-term employment,” said Dr Wolfgang Blank, the state’s Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.
Facts about the new production facility
The investment is accompanied by significant structural additions at the Altentreptow site: a new building of around 655 square metres housing the production equipment, an elevated walkway of approximately 30 metres connecting it to the existing plant infrastructure, and a separate 130-square-metre building for chromatographic applications. Commissioning began in December 2025, with the planned market launch of the lactoferrin powder scheduled for autumn 2026.
Source: Yumda
