The quarry in Karbach – located in no man’s land between Ebensee and Gmunden on the inaccessible steep bank and known to sailors because of the snack bar of the same name, which is currently closed – belonged to the Belgian chemical company Solvay for decades. The rock was transported by ship to Trauneck, from there by cable car wagons across Ebensee to the Solvay area in the center. During its heyday, more than a thousand workers worked in the soda factory here.
Now there was not only a lot of movement in the industrial area there again – as reported, Manfred Asamer bought the 18 hectare former Solvay site – but also on the other side of the lake. The Mitter Group from Wolfern took over the quarry from the Mineral Group, a subsidiary of the Strabag Group. Just a few days ago, in an extraordinary operation (see picture), a new 60-ton excavator was brought to the quarry by ship. As Felix Mitter, managing director of the Mitter Group, tells OÖN, the old construction machines are otherwise used, and the six old Solvay transport ships are also being renovated, given new logos and have been delivering rock to Ebensee again for a few weeks now. “So far there have been around 50,000 tons,” says Mitter. The company plans to extract 100,000 to 200,000 tons per year from the inaccessible region. To achieve this, around ten to 15 blasts would be carried out every year. According to insiders, Mineral had previously reduced operations to the bare essentials and maintained them in order not to lose any permits.
The land belongs to federal forests
According to his own statements, Mitter has taken over everything from Strabag and Mineral – including the facilities and buildings. No purchase price is mentioned. The land in Karbach itself belongs to the Austrian Federal Forests, the area where the ships land in Ebensee still belongs to Solvay. Three of the old Solvay ships are already on the way, the three others are still being renovated and then also put into service, says Mitter. Up to four ship trips per day are planned, with around 300 tons being transported per shipload.
Work takes place from Monday to Thursday and ten employees work in the quarry. In total, the Mitter Group, which includes several companies from concrete plants to waste disposal, employs 280 people and has a turnover of around 50 million euros. Why did he take over the quarry? “It’s an interesting thing for us,” says Mitter. He also wants to use the limestone as a basis for the food industry and animal meal – an area in which the Mitter Group also wants to be active. The transport of the excavator and operations in the Karbach quarry worked smoothly, says Mitter. From Trauneck, the rock is not brought to Wolfern, but directly to the customers.
More traffic on the B145?
In Ebensee there are fears of additional traffic problems on the busy B145 if Asamer then possibly starts a building materials recycling plant or something similar at the Solvay location in the center. Critics do not believe that the railway and the existing tracks will be used on a large scale for this purpose.
The Ohlsdorf building materials entrepreneur Manfred Asamer has taken over the entire area with former Asamer manager Robert Pree from the French mining group Imerys and, as reported, wants to set up an industrial park (IPE) here. The Ebensee building contractor Martin Steinkogler (Steinkogler Bau), whose company is based nearby and who was already in charge of property management (facility management) under Imerys, is also the managing director – alongside Pree. He also owns the former Henkel factory, a large brick building in the middle of the area, and the associated old Henkel buildings. He knows the Solvay area and its contaminated sites better than most.
Solvay’s legacy – contaminated soil and residues that were discharged in large quantities into Lake Traunsee – also still plays a role at the Karbach quarry. According to insiders, if there is no longer any business here, there will be a possible costly renaturation, which could allegedly cost more than 30 million euros. It is said that the Solvay Group has elegantly pulled itself out of the affair.
