Name

CDS Hackner GmbH

Legal name

CDS Hackner GmbH

Website

https://cds-hackner.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meat By-products and Natural Casings Processing

NAICS

Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116), Frozen Food Manufacturing (31141), Meat and Meat Product Merchant Wholesalers (42447)

SIC

Meat Packing Plants (2011), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Meat, Poultry & Seafood Manufacturing (AFAKACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meat, Poultry & Seafood Refrigerated Warehousing (TLALABAC), Refrigerated Meat & Charcuterie Wholesale (AFAIAHAI)

Keywords

• Natural sausage casings
• Meat offal processing
• Frozen food logistics
• Pharmaceutical raw materials
• Pet food ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Crailsheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Natural Casings Sales: Sale of sheep, hog, and beef natural casings for sausage production. Products include branded SilberPfeil® product family (Pipe, Tube, NonStop) and conventional casings. Raw materials sourced from EU-certified slaughterhouses and partner facilities globally.
2. Frozen Food Logistics Services: Comprehensive cold chain services including blast freezing, storage (33,000 pallet capacity), tempering/defrosting, packaging, and distribution. Services provided to food industry and for own products.
3. Special Meat Cuts & Offal: Production and sale of beef and pork offal products including tripe, liver, heart, kidneys, feet, and specialized cuts. Products customized for different regional preferences (European, African, Asian markets). Weekly delivery capacity of up to 1,500 metric tons.
4. Pharmaceutical Raw Materials: Supply of pharmaceutical-grade raw materials including pork mucosa for Heparin production, duodenum, pancreas, gallbladder, and claws.
5. Pet Food Raw Materials: System supplier of frozen raw materials for pet food industry. Offers block sizes of 20-50kg and Category III cold storage.
6. Graf Barf Brand: Own brand of high-quality, natural raw food cubes for dogs under the Graf Barf label.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CDS Hackner GmbH is a family-owned German food processor that manufactures and supplies natural sausage casings (sheep, hog, and beef) under the proprietary SilberPfeil® brand, produces and distributes frozen specialty meat cuts and offal, and operates large-scale cold chain logistics services (blast freezing, storage, tempering, packaging). It also supplies raw materials to the pet food and pharmaceutical industries and runs its own Graf Barf raw dog food brand.

Product overview

CDS Hackner GmbH is a family-owned food processing company operating two main business divisions: Natural Casings and Frozen Food Products. The Natural Casings division offers sheep, hog, and beef casings through the proprietary SilberPfeil® product family, which includes Pipes (pre-filled on bend-back tubes), Tubes (pre-filled on foiled tubes), and NonStop (welded hog casings). These products feature the company's patented 'bend-back trick' technology eliminating loose parts for maximum safety. The Frozen Food division encompasses Special Meat Cuts & Offal (beef and pork by-products), Frozen Food Services (turbo-freezing, storage, defrosting, packaging), Petfood industry supplies, and Pharmaceutical raw materials. The company also produces its own Graf Barf brand of raw dog food. With 270 employees across 40,000 square meters, CDS serves 1,600 partners in over 60 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Graf Barf: Own label for high quality and natural raw food cubes (BARF diet pet food).
• Silberpfeil®
• CDS Frischepack
• CDS Safety Ring

Products and services

• SilberPfeil® Pipe (Knick-Pipe) Pre-filled sheep natural casings on bend-back pipes that eliminate loose parts such as rubber bands or plastic rings; provides approximately 30 meters of sheep casing per pipe for sausage producers.
• SilberPfeil® Tube Pre-filled hog natural casings on foiled tubes offering up to 18 meters per tube; delivers 90% time savings compared to manual shirring and 50% versus shirring machines for sausage manufacturers.
• SilberPfeil® NonStop World's first welded hog casing providing up to 18 meters of caliber-consistent natural casing in one continuous piece; increases filling capacity by approximately 20% compared to other tubed hog casings for industrial sausage producers.
• Sheep Casings (Schafsaitlinge) Certified sheep natural casings available in calibers from 14/16 to 30/+, sourced from own production and partner facilities; ideal for grill and boiled sausages for meat processors.
• Hog Casings (Schweinedärme) Certified hog natural casings in all calibers from 26/28 to 48/+, sourced from EU-certified slaughterhouses in Europe and China; offers easy processing with high filling stability for sausage manufacturers.
• Beef Casings (Rinderdärme) Beef natural casings produced by certified partner facilities in South America; available as rounds (32/35–50/+), middles (45/50–70/+), and caps (90/100–130/+).
• Special Meat Cuts & Offal Complete range of beef and pork offal including tripe, liver, heart, kidney, lungs, spleen, feet, heads, and specialty cuts; customized to regional eating habits in Europe, Africa, and Asia with delivery capacity up to 1,500 metric tons per week.
• Frozen Food Services (Tiefkühldienstleistungen) Full-service cold chain logistics including turbo-freezing (up to 565 tons/day), storage (33,000 pallet capacity), defrosting/tempering, packaging with robotic technology, and dry ice production (280 kg/hour) for food industry customers.
• Petfood Raw Materials System partner supply of frozen raw materials for the pet food industry, offering individual frozen block sizes of 20–50 kg stored in Category III cold storage facilities.
• Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Supplier of high-quality raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry including pork mucosa for Heparin production, duodenum, pancreas, gallbladder, gallstones, and claws.
• Graf Barf Own-label brand producing high-quality natural raw food cubes (BARF diet) for dogs, manufactured at CDS facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% time savings in casing handling compared to manual shirring
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Graf BarfcoreOthers · 11 June 2025CDS produces high-quality natural raw food cubes under the Graf Barf brand for dogs. This is an internal brand/operation rather than an external partnership.
• TNC - The Nutriment CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2025Comprehensive cooperation agreement signed between CDS Hackner GmbH and The Nutriment Company. Partnership announced June 4, 2025. Represents a significant strategic collaboration in the food industry supply chain.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Viskase Companies: US-based global producer of cellulosic and fibrous casings for processed meats. Direct competitor in sausage casings serving similar industrial meat processors, with overlapping safety-and-handling innovation themes (no-loose-parts, pre-filled systems).
• Kalle Group: German manufacturer of artificial and natural casings for the food industry, owned by the Südpack group. Closely comparable to CDS on geography (Germany), core product (sausage casings), and customer base (industrial sausage producers).
• Viscofan: Spanish-listed global leader in natural and artificial casings for the meat industry. Direct competitor to CDS's natural casings business with overlapping product portfolio (collagen, cellulose, fibrous, plastic, and natural casings) and global distribution footprint.
• Devro plc: UK-based global manufacturer of collagen casings for sausage production, taken private in 2022. Direct competitor to CDS in sausage casings, with comparable industrial customer base and similar focus on casing handling/safety innovations.
• Nippi Collagen Industries: Japanese collagen casings manufacturer serving Asian sausage producers. Comparable in casing technology focus; relevant peer given CDS sources sheep/hog casings from Asia and competes in global natural and engineered casing categories.

Broad incumbents

• Danish Crown: European meat-processing cooperative and one of the world's largest pork exporters. Comparable on offal/by-product monetization, international export operations, and pet food/pharmaceutical raw material channels. Not a casings competitor, but a relevant broad-adjacent incumbent.
• Tönnies Fleischwerk: Germany's largest meat processor (pork and beef), with vertical integration into cutting, deboning, sausage production, and by-product utilization. Overlaps with CDS on offal and pet food raw material sourcing, though Tönnies is far larger and more downstream-focused.
• Westfleisch SCE: German meat-processing cooperative serving retail and foodservice across beef, pork, and convenience. Comparable on livestock by-product utilization, cold chain logistics, and German foodservice customer base, though Westfleisch is significantly larger.
• Bell Food Group: Swiss-listed meat and convenience food processor with European operations. Comparable in scale (similar revenue band), cold chain capability, and sausage/convenience food orientation, though Bell operates a broader branded retail portfolio.

Emerging players

• Freiberger Lebensmittel: German frozen pizza and convenience food manufacturer owned by Südzucker. Comparable on cold chain/frozen food manufacturing expertise, but operates as a customer/adjacent rather than competitor to CDS's casings and offal businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CDS Hackner GmbH