GEA powers Bauer's new in-house plant-based production facility in Germany

GEA has completed a turnkey process technology project for German private dairy Bauer, enabling the company to bring production of its plant-based soy base in-house for the first time.

The new production and innovation facility in Wasserburg am Inn, Germany, was officially inaugurated on July 16, 2026, in the presence of Bavarian Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in August.

• GEA supplied the complete process technology for Bauer's new plant-based soy base production facility in Wasserburg, Germany.
• The project enabled Bauer to internalize production of the soy concentrate used in its plant-based yogurt alternatives.
• Construction progressed from contract award in May 2025 to commercial production in August 2026 under a single project management structure.

The project marks GEA's first end-to-end delivery of a facility of this scale for plant-based raw material production, with the engineering company overseeing the project from feasibility testing and process development through to commissioning.

Bauer has produced plant-based yogurt alternatives for several years but previously sourced its soy base from external suppliers. The new facility allows the dairy to manufacture the concentrate itself before processing it into finished plant-based products at its existing fermentation and filling operations.

GEA's scope covered the complete upstream process, including raw soybean receiving and storage, mixing and grinding, solids separation using decanter technology, thermal inactivation, tank storage, water treatment, and clean-in-place (CIP) systems. The company said the project stopped at production of the plant-based concentrate, with downstream fermentation and filling remaining outside its scope.

According to GEA, the accelerated delivery schedule was made possible by consolidating the entire project under a single contractor. The company coordinated dairy processing specialists from Munich alongside experts from its process test centers in Ahaus and Oelde under one project manager.

Bauer awarded the contract in May 2025, installation began in January 2026, and the first production batch is expected in August 2026. Before construction, GEA used its test centers to develop and validate process concepts and performance data, an approach it said it has previously applied on similar projects for dairies and beverage manufacturers in Europe and overseas.

"Projects like this demonstrate why we view plant-based as a strategic growth area for GEA," said Michael Klamt, Project Manager at GEA. "The fact that we were able to support Bauer as a single-source partner from the initial feasibility study all the way to a fully operational plant was essential to reliably meeting such an ambitious timeline. And it proves that our investments in the test centers in Ahaus and Oelde pay off."

Sebastian Bodmeier, Technical Project Manager at private dairy Bauer, said the integrated approach helped streamline delivery.

"Because GEA brought together testing, process design, engineering, and implementation under one roof, our project was able to move full steam ahead," he said. "We had a single point of contact for the entire process chain – that saved us time in every phase of the project without having to compromise on quality."

GEA said the Bauer project builds on several years of experience supplying processing systems for plant-based raw materials including soy, oats and rice. The company works with both established dairy manufacturers and startups developing plant-based foods.

The company said the project reflects a growing willingness among traditional dairy businesses to invest in their own plant-based ingredient production rather than relying on purchased base materials.

The new facility also supports Bauer's product development ambitions. Earlier this year, the company introduced its 'Bauer KFYR Plant-Based' kefir drink at the OMR Festival in Hamburg, with GEA's teams in Ahaus and Oelde contributing to development and validation of the production process. The Wasserburg production and innovation center will now provide Bauer with the capability to continue developing similar products using its own in-house plant base.