Golden Medal of Honour for Franz Hittinger

Franz Hittinger, who had been chairman of the Lagerhaus Cooperative in the northeast industrial district for many years, was awarded the Golden Medal of Honour for services to the province of Lower Austria in the provincial parliament chamber in St. Pölten at the beginning of October. The award was presented by Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner. Hittinger had recently stepped down as chairman of the Lagerhaus cooperative in the northeast industrial district after 39 years of active service.

At the ceremony in St. Pölten, Governor Mikl-Leitner praised Hittinger's decades of commitment to regional agriculture, the cooperative and the people of the region. ‘With his tireless dedication, Franz Hittinger has had a decisive role in shaping the cooperative and made an important contribution to its development,’ said Managing Director Bernhard Schröck.

Lagerhaus is the umbrella brand for around 80 independent and regional cooperatives in Austria owned by agricultural members with more than 1,000 locations and around 13,000 employees. Lagerhaus has been a local supplier in rural areas for more than 125 years.