cz
History of the company
MILCOM a.s. was founded in 1991 as the legal successor to the state-owned company Vědeckotechnické, obchodní a technické služby (Scientific, Technical, Commercial and Engineering Services), which was established in 1989 with the aim of bringing together the service, research, consulting, and production activities of the former central management of of the national Dairy Industry Concern. In the 1990s, the company underwent restructuring and privatization. Since 1999, MILCOM a.s. has been privately owned by individual shareholders. Since the late 1990s, the company has concentrated its activities in its headquarters and three specialized divisions:
• Dairy Research Institute and Laktoflora (Prague) - research, development and production of microbial cultures for the dairy and food industry
• Tábor divison - specific production for the food industry
• Service division in Dvůr Králové nad Labem - technical support and service activities
MILCOM a.s. continues to develop its activities in the dairy and food industry with an emphasis on innovation and professional services.
Dairy Research Institute and Laktoflora, based in Prague
The Dairy Research Institute (DRI) and Laktoflora (LF) developed independently for several decades, both maintaining strong ties with the dairy industry. After being incorporated into MILCOM a.s., the two units were merged organizationally while preserving their respective areas of expertise. DRI continues to engage in research and development in the food industry, while Laktoflora specialises in the production of pure dairy cultures, diagnostic tools, and the preservation of dairy microorganism gene banks. Their mutual cooperation has significantly deepened since DRI moved to the MILCOM a.s. premises in Prague 6 – Vokovice.
The Dairy Research Institute (DRI) is a specialized workplace providing research services and professional support in the food industry. Its activities focus on two main areas:
I. Contract activities – provides accredited chemical and microbiological analyses, consulting services for dairy laboratories and companies, solves technological challenges in the dairy industry, develops new formulas, and trains experts.
II. Research and development – implements scientific projects focused on food quality and safety, new analytical methods, innovative technologies, and the development of products with higher nutritional value and health benefits. It cooperates with universities, research institutions, and dairy companies in the Czech Republic and within international EU programs.
The DRI cooperates closely with the Czech-Moravian Dairy Association and publishes the professional journal Mlékařské listy - zpravodaj, featuring industry updates and research results.
Laktoflora is a specialized manufacturer of dairy cultures and microbial preparations for the food industry, households, and nutritional supplement producers. It offers liquid, frozen, and lyophilized cultures for the production of fermented dairy products and cheese. In addition to cultures, it provides microbial tests and phosphate tests, which are widely used in the food industry due to their simplicity and speed.
The activities also includes the management of the Culture Collection of Dairy Microorganisms (CCDM) Lactoflora® and the Culture Collection of Dairy and Bakery Contaminants (CCDBC), which contribute to research, development and education. They contain hundreds of strains with unique technological properties and stability.
Tábor division
The MILCOM Tábor plant has specialised in the production of rennets since its foundation, which remains its main activity to this day. Over the years, the product range has expanded significantly, especially to include cultivating mediums for food and water laboratories and auxiliary substances for production and laboratory use. Since the 1990s, the plant has also focused on the custom production of baking and confectionery mixtures and mixtures for gastro-packing, thus extending its activities to other segments of the food industry.
Service division Dvůr Králové nad Labem
The beginnings of the company's engineering activities can be dated back to the early 1980s. At that time, a service workshop was established in Dvůr Králové nad Labem - the service plant as an auxiliary service workplace for NAGEMA (NDR) for the territory of the Czechoslovakia, the Polish People's Republic and other countries of the former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. 10 years later, NAGEMA's activities in Germany were completely terminated, the plant was closed and all know-how, documentation, parts, products and other specific tools for NAGEMA's activities in the dairy sector were purchased by MILCOM a.s. Until 2002, the main activities of the plant consisted of the production of spare parts, repairs and overhauls of dairy machines, especially the original butter packers and milk centrifuges. Since 2002 the production of new generation PA1 machines has been started. Together with the development of primary packaging of products such as butter, curd, butter mixes, margarines, but also lard and other suitable paste products in film, the plant also produces equipment for subsequent cartoning.
In October 2023, the service division Dvůr Králové nad Labem was separated from MILCOM a.s. and a new company, MILCOM MILPACK s.r.o., was established. Subsequently, the majority ownership share was sold to PEBAL GROUP a.s.
