Global meat processing company Danish Crown’s subsidiary DAT-Schaub has purchased a majority stake in Shanghai Natural Casing for an undisclosed price to expand its operations in China.
The purpose of the acquisition is to gain additional capacity in the selecting and processing of natural casings for sausage and salami production.
Danish Crown’s 4WD strategy specifically declares that DAT-Schaub must be a global market leader. To achieve this goal, additional capacity is required in the selecting and processing of natural casings from pigs and lambs.
DAT-Schaub CEO Jan Roelsgaard said: “China is the centre for selecting and processing in a labour-intensive industry like ours. At the same time, the country is well positioned geographically because the raw materials come from Europe, the US and Australia.
“There is a strong infrastructure to and from the Shanghai area, and the employees are meticulous and quality conscious, which is essential in our business.”
In 2007, Shanghai Natural Casing Company built a new factory about an hour’s drive from the centre of Shanghai.
Up to now, the company has selected and processed natural casings for the US company DCW Casing LLC, in which DAT-Schaub also has the controlling interest. This gives DAT-Schaub in-depth knowledge of the company, and it sees great potential going forward.
Jan Roelsgaard said: “It’s a well-managed company, but it’s still possible to enlarge the capacity, which is essential for handling the rising volumes of raw materials we’ve gained access to over the past year.”
DAT-Schaub buys and cleans sets of casings from pigs and sheeps from most of the world. These are cleaned and salted at the abattoirs and shipped to China or Portugal, where DAT-Schaub has factories to manage the selecting and and processing of the casings.
Over the past year, DAT-Schaub has acquired majority stakes in five companies in South America and Spain. At the same time, a joint venture has been established in Spain, so the level of activity is sharply rising.
Danish Crown Group CEO Jais Valeur said: “DAT-Schaub has a strong brand and sells its products all over the world. Over the past financial year, the company generated a record-setting profit.
“In my view, this is a perfect set off to become the undisputed market leader globally, which is also our clear – and definitely realistic – ambition.”
DAT-Schaub owns a part of a similar company situated about three hours north of Shanghai. The activities at this factory will not be affected by the acquisition of Shanghai Natural Casing Company.
