FrieslandCampina Belgium to Close Sleidinge Facility

02 Oct 2014 --- FrieslandCampina Belgium intends to transfer the bulk of the production at Sleidinge to its Aalter facility, and close the Sleidinge facility in 2015. The management of FrieslandCampina announced this to the works council and its employees. This would have an impact on the Sleidinge facility's 134 permanent employees.

FrieslandCampina's intention to transfer the production from the production facility in Sleidinge to Aalter and close the Sleidinge facility is the result of declining demand for dairy drinks due to adverse market conditions in Europe. As an additional factor, the technology and packaging of the products produced in Sleidinge no longer meet the expectations of today's consumer. As a result, in recent years the Sleidinge facility has been struggling with ongoing underutilization, and it is no longer economically feasible to continue the production in Sleidinge.
 
Katrien Bousson, Country Manager FrieslandCampina Belgium: “Of course, I understand that this announcement hits our employees and their families hard. We will be entering into a constructive dialogue with our social partners. We expect that at least 20 of our employees will be able to be transferred to our facility in Aalter."
 
In the drive for a more competitive organization, FrieslandCampina has implemented a number of changes in the European organization in recent years. These changes have contributed to cost reductions and have made it possible to continue to invest in innovation, new technologies, and support of the brand positions.