Brothers Guy and Luc Van den Broeke,
Achim Schön Shine Golden in Cologne

Proudly displaying plaques and lapel pins are Golden Ice Crystal Pioneering Achievement Award winners (left to right) Luc and Guy Van den Broeke, executive directors of Van den Broeke-Lutosa, Belgium’s leading frozen potato products company; and Achim Schön of Osnabrück, Germany-headquartered Roncadin, the European ice cream producer that recently changed its name to R&R Ice Cream Group.

This year’s Golden Ice Crystal Awards ceremony at the Anuga in Cologne was preceded by a Frozen Food ’07 Conference. John M. Saulnier, chief editor and publisher of Quick Frozen Foods International magazine (with microphone in hand) helps kick off the evening with opening remarks along with fellow event organizers (left to right) Wolfgang Kranz of Koelnmesse, Manfred Sassen of the Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut, and Eckhard Lenz of Lebensmittel Praxis.

Golden Ice Crystal honors presented to executive directors of Van den Broeke-Lutosa and chairman of R&R Ice Cream in special ceremony awards ceremony during Anuga.

The plaques presented to Guy and Luc Van den Broeke and Achim Schön proclaimed: “Quick Frozen Foods International, the business magazine of record serving the global frozen food industry since 1959, proudly presents you with The Golden Ice Crystal Pioneering Achievement Award.

“Ceremoniously awarded on Oct. 16, 2007, at the ANUGA, Cologne, Germany, in recognition of unrelenting efforts and leadership in pioneering the frozen food sector in the formative years and building it into a first-class industry. QFFI salutes the acute vision and energetic drive that continues to power today’s ever-expanding frozen food industry. You shine brightly as a Supernova among a galaxy of stars.”

And so, in a special ceremony attended by several hundred members of the international frozen food industry, the executive directors of Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium-based Van den Broeke-Lutosa and the chairman of the R&R Ice Cream Group became the latest inductees into an elite fraternity whose membership numbers only 15 persons. They joined the ranks of luminaries including Harrison McCain of McCain Foods, Karl Düsterberg of apetito, Andre Dejonghe of Pinguin, Edward Haspeslagh of Ardo, Gerrit de Bruijne of Farm Frites, Per-Oskar Persson of Frigoscandia, Dirk Ahlers of FRoSTA, Philip Dean Kruk of Salomon FoodWorld, and Bob Prakken of BluePrint Automation.

“Each award-winner, in his own way, has made contributions that have greatly moved the frozen food business forward, said John M. Saulnier, chief editor and publisher of Quick Frozen Foods International. “We are pleased to honor them for their lasting service to the industry and for providing leadership which advanced the sector during decisive, early years of development.”

Andrew H. Williams, president of E.W. Williams Publications Co., which has published QFFI since its beginning more than 48 years ago, presented the Golden Ice Crystal Award winners with plaques spelling out their achievements. He also oversaw the pinning of Golden Ice Crystal crests on the labels of the distinguished honorees.

The Van den Broeke brothers grew up in the potato business. They learned all about wholesaling and exporting from their father, while mother taught them everything that was needed to know about buying raw materials from farmers.

During the 1960s the family began raising potatoes on rented land. In 1977, Guy and Luc entered the frozen french fry business and created the Lutosa enterprise. Today Lutosa, which last year was acquired by frozen vegetable specialist Pinguin NV, is global in scope. It annually processes more than 600,000 tons of spuds at two plants, and exports products to over 55 countries.

“We salute you for having the vision to expand your multi-generational family potato business into the frozen french fry segment and create the Lutosa brand, which has evolved to become highly regarded throughout Europe and beyond,” said Williams. “As young entrepreneurs, each of you had the wisdom and foresight to look into the future and embrace it, never hesitating to proceed full-speed ahead without looking back.”

Andrew Williams (right), president of E.W. Williams Publications, parent company of Quick Frozen Foods International magazine, presents brothers Luc (left) and Guy Van den Broeke awards in recognition of their important roles in advancing the frozen food sector’s status during their many years of service to the industry.

Stopping by the Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut (dti) Anuga stand, Golden Ice Crystal Award winner Achim Schön, chairman of the R&R Ice Cream Group (formerly known as Roncadin), is warmly received and congratulated by well-wishers Susanne Köenig of dti (left) and Ute Sievert of Hamburg-headquartered Iglo.

In accepting the award, Guy Van den Broeke lauded the teamwork of staff members who “have invested their time and energy to make the company what it is today.”

He also credited the firm’s penchant for product quality and innovation, as well as specialization and integrated operations as key for ongoing success in the marketplace.

Achim Schön was honored for a long and still-flourishing career in the frozen food industry that began in 1965 when he was a salesman of Baader Anlagenbau industrial food processing equipment. After receiving a Business Economics degree in Foreign Trade, he entered the seafood business as a chief trader with Flamingo-Fisch in Bremerhaven, working there for several years before becoming head of marketing at Schottke GmbH in 1975. Promoted to director of sales five years later, in 1983 he was named director of marketing and sales. During that period, Herr Schön was actively engaged in the launch and extension of the FRoSTA brand of frozen fish products, ready meals and vegetables. In 1995 he began a six-year term as a board member of FRoSTA Ag, responsible for EUR 300 million in turnover, as well as four production sites and sales operations in 10 countries.

In 2001 Herr Schön left FRoSTA to assume the helm at Roncadin, a major producer of private label ice cream products in Germany. This was a major challenge, as Roncadin was near bankruptcy at the time. In short order, he successfully reorganized the company and strengthened its position among retail buyers. In 2006 he took the Roncadin Group, which was then a EUR 500 million unit of Oaktree Capital management and ranked as Europe’s third largest ice cream producer, into Poland with the acquisition of Zielona Budka.

It’s been a long and successful 40-plus year run for Achim Schön, whose stellar career keeps going from strength to strength. Recently he was named chairman of the R&R Ice Cream Group, which is an amalgamation of the merged Roncadin and UK-based Richmond Ice Cream companies. Few chief executives with his breadth of knowledge and experience, if any, are still active on the job in a full-time capacity today.

Kudos to Herr Schön and the Van den Broeke brothers!