Friland moves head office to Randers

Randers, 27 march 2009

To strengthen Friland in future, the Board of Directors and the Board of Executives of Friland have decided to move Friland to Randers. By physically moving into the parent company’s head office, Friland will be able to benefit even more from being part of Danish Crown and from being able to draw on the group’s resources than is the case today.

“We have had several really good years and generated strong growth. However, things have been slightly more difficult recently, earnings are under pressure, and even though we are still seeing growth, some markets have seen a fall in sales. At the same time, our suppliers are going through a very difficult patch, and we must do what we can to ensure they obtain the highest possible prices for their products,” says Karsten Deibjerg Kristensen, CEO of Friland.

To ensure that Friland is geared for a future which looks set to bring even greater challenges, a decision has been made to reduce costs, for example by moving into Danish Crown’s head office in Randers. The new structure will make it possible to exploit the synergies between the parent company and the subsidiary, while at the same time cutting payroll costs thanks to the optimised use of resources.

“Unfortunately, the new structure does mean that some Friland employees will not be moving to Randers. However, others will continue to work solely with matters relating to Friland, for example a number of people in the Contact to Farmers department will be looking after Friland suppliers only,” Karsten Deibjerg Kristensen explains.

Friland will be part of a new business unit, Danish Crown Nordic, which will comprise Danish Crown’s Domestic market department, Swedish activities and Friland’s Danish/Nordic department. Friland’s sales to Scandinavia will be managed from the office in Randers, while Friland’s subsidiary in Kiel will be in charge of exports.

The move will not entail any changes to the decentralisation of management which has always characterised Friland’s organisation in relation to the parent company. Friland will remain a public limited company with its own Board of Directors consisting primarily of the company’s suppliers. They will continue to decide on the strategies which are to ensure that Friland’s suppliers are paid the highest possible price for the raw materials.

“Following the move, we have the best possible starting point for gearing Friland for the future as the company spearheading Danish Crown’s organic and free-range products,” says Karsten Deibjerg Kristensen.