EUROPE – Danish Crown acquires 14,000 square meters of structures and about 120,000 square meters in Vejen on April 1.
This comes after reports that Skare filed for bankruptcy in February, affecting 300 people at their Vejen and Rhus locations.
After an unannounced inspection of the Vejen processing facility in December, whereby the authenticity of its meat was scrutinized, this occurred.
The vast majority of the structures at the site in Vejen, southern Denmark, were constructed for food production.
In an “unexpected opportunity,” Danish Crown has purchased the facility to allow it to increase its presence in Denmark.
“The buildings were sold unexpectedly. It gave us unexpected prospects because we had to build a new building in Denmark, which would be more expensive and take longer, so we promptly agreed with the previous owner.,“ Danish Crown’s Group Production Director Soren F. Eriksen said.
Danish Crown is not buying any production machinery or inventory as part of the agreement because it will invest in the installation of equipment to satisfy its needs.
The infrastructure of Vejen will be updated to meet the company’s anticipated needs. Thus, no machinery or materials used in production are appropriated.
This is because Danish Crown’s future production plans for Vejen cannot be carried out with the current equipment housed in the buildings.
Danish Crown’s manufacturing at Vejen may not begin for another year, according to Eriksen; until then, the company has no idea how many workers it will need.
This purchase is a key component of the Danish Crown’s “Feeding the Future” strategy, which aims to increase the value of the pigs and cattle delivered to the company’s stockholders.
The company has indicated its intentions to have a clear goal of being able to offer its consumers in Northern Europe more innovative items.
They have long had a strategy to make a stronger impression on the market for meal solutions, which has constantly expanded.
Given the newfound freedom as building owners, the Danish crown wants to spend the next few months deliberating our next steps.
Danish Crown’s group CEO, Jais Valeur, said, “We are making this investment intending to increase our innovative power in Northern Europe.” Our plan has always been to expand our product offerings to Northern European clients, and we hope to increase our presence in expanding markets like the one for meal solutions.
“The purchase of the buildings also creates new prospects for us, therefore we will therefore spend the following months drafting a detailed plan”. He added
The parties have agreed that the acquisition’s monetary details will remain confidential.
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