Arla Foods puts Danapak up for sale
The decision to sell the company, which has a turnover of DKK 350 million, is based on Arla Foods’ intention to focus on its core business - dairy operations.
25/02/05 Arla Foods has decided to put the packaging company, Danapak, up for sale. The decision to sell the company, which has a turnover of DKK 350 million, is based on Arla Foods’ intention to focus on its core business - dairy operations.
Danapak, which has plants in Korsør and Herning in Denmark and Bremen in Germany, was founded in 1955 when Danske Mejeriers Fællesorganisation and De danske Mejeriers Fællesindkøb set up the Dairy Industry’s Packaging Factory (Mejeribrugets Emballagefabrik) as a co-operative business. In the early days, the company exclusively produced Lur branded staves for the butter casks. Later on, the company branched out into production of cardboard, plastic, cartons and flexible packaging.
While the Danish dairy industry has always been a major customer, Danapak has supplied its products to many other industrial companies over the years.
In recent years, the plastic business was sold off while the flexibles business has joined the associated Danapak Flexible Group, which is owned by Danapak (40%) and the Austrian Teich Group (60%). Today only Danapak cardboard and cartons remains.
From the outset, Danapak has been owned by the majority of Denmark’s dairies although in line with general developments in the Danish dairy industry, Arla Foods has acquired a steadily increasing share of the business.
During the 2003/04 financial year, Danapak amba was converted to a limited company under the name of Danapak Holding A/S – a wholly-owned company within the Arla Foods Group. Danapak’s sales to Arla Foods account for less than 20% of its turnover.
