Neerlands Glorie Groente & Fruit (NGG&F), HAK's parent company, is no longer a part of KDV. That used to be its Russian parent company. As of yesterday, all NGG&F activities are part of the new parent organization Flexway, a collection of international food companies. NGG&F's board of directors says this decision was made in the interest of the company's stability, given the current geopolitical situation and the uncertainties that it brings. The move also provides starting points for NGG&F's export ambitions.
NGG&F's new parent company, Flexway, was founded in 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. Like KDV, Denis Shtengelov, who has lived outside Russia for more than 12 years, is the major shareholder. The change is a logical step that lets Flexway consolidate all its international companies, including those in Eastern Europe and America's food activities, in a central location. That gives NGG&F opportunities to gain international food knowledge and explore new export markets.
When KDV acquired NGG&F in 2021, it saw in it a partner with which to realize further synergies. At that time, that ownership structure was the most logical one. However, current geopolitical conditions have created a new reality, making those synergies unrealistic.
Best solution under current conditions
"We worked well, and constructively, with KDV," says Timo Hoogeboom, HAK's CEO. But, considering the changed situation, we spent the last few months seeing how we can disconnect NGG&F from its Russian parent company. We want to guarantee our organization's stability and continue implementing our vegetable strategy unimpeded."
"We'd been discussing this with our major shareholder for some time. The transfer to Flexway is the best solution for NGG&F under current conditions. This doesn't change anything else about our company. HAK will remain HAK and operate completely autonomously, from the Netherlands," Tom explains.
HAK and NGG&F strategies unchanged
Despite this change, NGG&F and HAK's goal to expand its vegetable and green strategy in North-West Europe remains. The focus is mainly on the Benelux countries and Germany. As before, with KDV, Neerlands Glorie and HAK will remain financially and operationally independent. They will build on the mission to help people eat more vegetables and legumes. That involves at least 85% of all their vegetables being grown by Dutch farmers within a 125-kilometer radius of the company.
NGG&F uses only local bank accounts and credit facilities and recruits its own investors. There are no financial flows between NGG&F and its parent company or owner, and the shareholder receives zero dividends. The HAK board and management team are and will remain entirely Dutch.
Source: HAK