Abba Seafood and Procordia to be merged
In order to increase its competitiveness on the Swedish market, Orkla is merging Abba Seafood and Procordia which combined will be one of Sweden's largest food companies.
The purpose of creating a single food company in Sweden is to establish a solid platform for future growth and the further development of the two companies' strong brands.
Abba Seafood's best known brands are Abba, Kalles, Grebbestads and Ejderns. Procordia markets strong brands such as Felix, Ekströms, Önos, Risifrutti, Grandiosa, Fun Light, Liva, Den Gamle Fabrik, BOB, Paulúns and Jokk.
"By combining the best of Abba Seafood and Procordia, we will create a new company that will strengthen the competitiveness of our well-known Swedish food brands, and give them greater clout in the Swedish market," says Atle Vidar Johansen, CEO Orkla Foods Nordic.
The new company will have a turnover of around SEK 4.5 billion and over 1300 employees. The company will be operational as from 2 April 2013, and will be headed by Patrik Andersson, current CEO of Procordia. The new headquarters will be in Eslöv, where Procordia's headquarters are presently located.
Current administrative positions at Abba Seafood's head office in Gothenburg will be moved to Eslöv. Around half of the 60 Abba Seafood employees in Gothenburg will be offered jobs at the new headquarters in Eslöv.
Abba Seafood' s popular branded goods, which have long traditions in Sweden, will continue to be manufactured at Abba Seafood's factory in Kungshamn. The company's central raw material facility in Kungshamn and the central warehouse in Uddevalle will continue to operate as before. The same applies to production at Procordia's plants in Eslöv, Tollarp, Fågelmara, Kumla, Örebro and Vansbro. The grocery sales teams in the two companies will be maintained as at present, while the sales teams in Abba Foodservice and Procordia FoodSolutions will be amalgamated.
The employees at Abba Seafood and Procordia were informed today about the changes. Negotiations have been entered into with employee representatives.
The plan is also to integrate Frödinge into the new company, provided that Orkla's acquisition of Rieber & Søn is approved by the European competition authorities.
Abba Seafood and Procordia have been owned by Orkla since 1995. In 2011, Abba Seafood had a turnover of SEK 1.3 billion and a work force equivalent to about 370 man-years at the end of the year. The company's headquarters are currently located in Gothenburg, its production and central raw material facilities are in Kungshamn, and its central warehouse is in Uddevalla. In 2011, Procordia had a turnover of SEK 3.3 billion and a workforce comprising 1000 man-years at year end. The company has its headquarters and a factory in Eslöv, in addition to production facilities in Tollarp, Fågelmara, Kumla, Örebro and Vansbro.
Orkla ASA
Oslo, 9 January 2013
Ref.:
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs
Håkon Mageli
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Source: Orkla ASA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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