Vegetable manufacturer HAK is taking over vegetable cutting plant Peter van Halder Grootverbruik BV from Den Bosch, the Netherlands. With it, HAK steps into the cooled products business. Last week, the two parties signed the agreement. Both companies will continue to exist in their current form. With the takeover, HAK can focus on the cooled segment. Peter van Halder will gain sales options towards retail through HAK.
The acquisition is a long-cherished wish of HAK. In an interview with specialist journal Primeur in 2014, CEO Timo Hoogenboom said he aspired to a combination with cooled. “It has been a wish for a while now,” Timo Hoogenboom confirms. “We looked at where we could offer added value with consistent quality.”
Arnoud van Os, left, manager of Peter van Halder and Timo Hoogenboom, CEO of HAK, are inspecting the quality of the lettuce harvest this year. Photo: HAK
Umbrella brand
During the first contacts, a cooperation between the companies was discussed, but eventually the conclusion was drawn that a takeover would be necessary to guarantee quality. Besides, the takeover also offers advantages in the field of product development. “For that, you need ownership,” Timo explains. “Cooled is an almost completely vertically integrated supply chain, and, for us, it’s a new branch entirely.” Logistics around cooled also require a different approach. While HAK can produce seasonally, due to the long shelf life of the products, that’s not an option for cooled products. “Our logistical system, which daily supplies health care institutions, catering and out-of-home outlets, among others, can be immediately used by HAK for restocking supermarkets,” according to Arnoud van Os, manager of Peter van Halder.
Photo: HAK
Under the umbrella of HAK, Peter van Halder will continue operating independently and under his own name. With the acquisition, HAK gets the production facilities and development platform to accelerate innovation and market new vegetable products under its own brand name in the cooled retail segment in one fell swoop. Production of this also remains in-house, and will be supplied daily through the logistical platform of Peter van Halder. Furthermore, through Peter van Halder, HAK will get the option to sell HAK brand products in food service and out-of-home. Peter van Halder is active in these channels. The company has a turnover of 10 million euro and has 30 employees. For comparison: HAK reported a turnover of 76.5 million euro over 2016, and has 150 employees. All employees are being kept on.
Photo: HAK
Both Timo and Arnoud point out the similarities between the companies. Both companies try to buy locally as much as possible, the sales area focuses on the Benelux and West Germany, and offering an added value. Besides, pricing is also similar. Neither company works with contracts, so that prices move along with the market.
HAK growing thanks to beans
Looking back, Timo characterises the previous fiscal year as “climatologically challenging.” Last year’s bad weather did not turn out to have a negative effect on the company’s figures. For the third year in a row, the operational result increased by ten per cent, and amounted to 11.1 million euro.
Net turnover decreased slightly by one per cent, and amounted to 76.5 million euro. A year earlier, the company managed a turnover of 77.5 million euro. That slight decrease is only caused by the negative effects of a strategic decision in 2012 to stop private label and non-core products. Last year, the final phase was completed by taking sliced fruit and pickles from the assortment. That had a negative effect of 3.5 per cent on sales. The increase of more than two per cent in core activities, was largely able to compensate this loss.
Beans revenue engine
Within the core assortment, summarised as summer and winter vegetables, applesauce and legumes, new products were introduced. Especially legumes in upright bags showed an increase. Eight new bean dishes and mixes in upright bag were introduced. Within this segment, HAK grew more rapidly than the market. The market grew by 11.4 per cent, HAK’s sales in legumes grew by 15.9 per cent. With that, the company increased its market share in this segment to 36.3 per cent.
The company from Giessen has a policy to buy as much as possible locally. Last year there were some severe thunderstorms over the Land of Altena. “In that respect, we have had bad luck,” Timo says. “It demanded a lot of coordination between production and growers, but we have achieved HAK quality.”