Vion Food Group Acquiring Grampian
To Strengthen Position in UK

The Grampian Foods Siam operation in Thailand freezes a line value added chicken products ranging from coated fillets and drumsticks to thighs, wings and kebabs.

Vion Food Group, Son en Breugel, the Netherlands, has strengthened its position in the United Kingdom with an agreement to acquire Grampian Country Food Group, one of the UK’s largest food companies. The takeover still needs to be approved by competition authorities.

Based in Livingston, Scotland, Grampian was founded in 1980 and supplies major retail chains with chicken, pork, beef and lamb. It currently employs 17,500 staff (of which 4,500 are in Thailand), with an annual turnover of £1.7 billion (2.5 billion euros) and has production sites in the UK and Thailand.

The company ranks as a leading UK agri-food business, supplying frozen and and non-frozen value added products to major multiples and foodservice operations, Grampian Foods Siam Ltd., formed in 2001, processes around 800,000 chickens per week at a state-of-the art factory in Nakorn Nayok, near Bangkok. The plant supplies value added poultry to retail and foodservice markets across Asia and Europe.

Vion, one of Europe’s largest food companies, already has four business operations in the United Kingdom. Its Oerlemans Foods unit offers fresh-frozen vegetables, potato products and fruit through a UK sales office. Key Country Foods is a major retail bacon processor. Vion also has a majority share in J&J Tranfield, a leading supplier and manufacturer of pizza and sausages. Vion Food UK Ltd. is responsible for the sales of bacon, pork, beef and convenience products to the UK market.

“This announcement is evidence of the great importance Vion attaches to the United Kingdom market. At the heart of our business is a ‘Passion for Better Food’ and Grampian is key to developing this strategy,” said Daan van Doorn, chairman of the Vion Board of Management.

Grampian will be integrated into a new Vion division, Vion UK, which will be managed from Britain and led by Ton Christiaanse, who will be appointed chief executive officer. He is currently chief operating officer of Vion’s Convenience Division.

Peter Barr, formerly chairman of the Meat and Livestock Commission in the UK, will be appointed as non-executive chairman of the board of Vion UK.

Meanwhile, just before this magazine was about to go to press, Vion entered into a joint venture with the Moscow-based meat processor Ramfood to better tap the Russian market for added value fresh and pre-packaged meat products.

R&R CEO Achim Schön Retires; Hans-Dietrich Kühl Now at Helm

Achim Schön has stepped down as chief executive officer of R&R Ice Cream Deutschland and passed the firm’s direction on to Hans-Dietrich Kühl, who since February has been the company’s director of marketing and sales for Continental Europe. Mr. Schön, a veteran of the German frozen food industry with more than 40 years of experience, will now serve as a member of the board.

Mr. Kühl has had considerable experience in the grocery and frozen food area; having been director of both Krings Fruchsaft GmbH (Refresco) and Crustimex-Seafood GmbH.

“We are very pleased to integrate Hans-Dietrich Kühl, a marketing pro and an expert in the grocery and frozen food market, into our firm,” said Mr. Schön. “We are sure that with him we will carry on with R&R Ice Cream’s history of success.”

The R&R Ice Cream Group was formed in November 2007 with the merger of Richmond Ice Cream of the United Kingdom and Roncadin GmbH of Osnabrück, Germany. Both firms belong to USA-headquartered Oaktree Capital. The group is Europe’s largest producer of private label ice cream, and also makes a number of well know branded products in the German market, including Landliebe, Käpt´n Cool Schatztruhe, Nasch, Botterbloom, nimm2, Del Monte and Weight Watchers.