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Danish Crown and Westfleisch have decided to join forces regarding deboning and sales of sow meat. With a 50:50‐investment they are proposing to found the joint venture “WESTCROWN”.
“We have a clear expectation that co-investing in our own deboning facilities will secure better prices for our owners. More specifically, we will remove an intermediary step to increase earnings for our owners”, explains Group CEO of Danish Crown Kjeld Johannesen.
Dr. Helfried Giesen, Spokesman of the Westfleisch eG Board, is pleased as well to see a win/win-partnership emerging: “We are very pleased to have found such an applicable partner for a common business in a competitive market segment. Danish suppliers are known for high quality sow meat, which adds eminently to our current raw materials in Northwest Germany and our know-how in refining.”
Westfleisch operates a business specialized in deboning of sows in Schöppingen, near the Dutch border, with an annual quantity of ultimately 355,000 animals.
Danish Crown slaughters app. 325,000 sows in Denmark annually. So far, these have been sold as half carcasses to buyers primarily in Germany.
“For a long time we have been trying to find ways to increase the benefits for our cooperative members who supply sows. By pooling our resources with Westfleisch, we are confident to make possible a profitable proposition for both parties from day one”, says Kjeld Johannesen.
“Finding such a promising joint-venture after our recent strategic investment concerning the beef market, is definitely a valuable signal towards our agricultural co-operators, members and customers as a reliable and future-oriented partner”, Dr. Helfried Giesen complements.
Danish Crown is a cooperative, owned by app. 8,300 Danish farmers, and belongs to the Top-3 exporters of meat worldwide. The members and owners of Westfleisch consist of more than 4,200 Northwest German farmers and the company belongs to the Top‐5‐meat suppliers in Europe.
The Joint Venture is subject to approval by the Competition Authority in Brussels.
March 24, 2015 - Danish Crown
