Danish Crown continues restructuring
of another slaughterhouse in its domestic market, as it attempts to
expand internationally and lower costs.
The sale is part of a restructuring plan announced by Danish Crown five years ago under which the company plans to concentrate its processingoperations and expand internationally.
The company is also investing in more automation to increase its competitiveness.
The pig meat industry in northern Europe has become increasingly concentrated in recent years as the large players try to use economies of scale to lower costs.
About 90 per cent of the company's sales are outside Denmark. In the previous financial year, Danish Crown has acquired Flagship Foods in the UK and became a majority shareholder in a Polish processing plant. It has also bought a processing plant in Germany.
This month the company approved the sale of a pig slaughterhouse in high-cost Denmark to a purchaser who intends to develop the site for residential housing.
The company has closed one other pig slaugherhouse in Denmark. It has upgraded another to take up the production from the two closures.
Earlier this year the company sold another of its Danish pig slaughterhouses to Meat Business Europe due to regulatory requirments. In 2001, Danish Crown merged with Steff-Houlberg. The Danish competition regulator approved the merger on the condition that Danish Crown sold one of its existing slaughterhouses.
In Germany, Danish Crown is building a meat processing plant in Oldenburg. The company's packaged meat products in that country are currently processed in three German factoriesand the UK.
In April this year Danish Crown sold Emborg Foods, a food trader and distributer, to F.Uhrenholt.
Danish Crown has an annual turnover of about €6bn.
