Lantmännen Unibake expands in Norway
Today, the international bakery company, Lantmännen Unibake, has acquired the production assets from French Bakery Company AS, a Norwegian bakery located close to Drammen. The acquisition is a key step to provide sustainable products and bakery solutions in Norway and to meet consumer demand for locally produced bakery products.
The acquisition includes the take-over of French Bakery Company’s production equipment and employees and it strengthens Lantmännen Unibake’s unique position in Norway. It will provide opportunities for expansion with new products for foodservice and retail. It also enables insourcing to Lantmännen Unibake’s local bakeries and supports the international bakery group’s focus on core markets and sustainable production.
“French Bakery Company is a modern bakery with high bake-off expertise and quality standards. Geographically, the bakery is well positioned for our current Norwegian operations and fits into our strategy and ambition. Building on our focus on sustainability from field to fork, locally produced bakery products and short time-to-market, we believe there is a very good potential to grow the business further and continue to deliver great results,” says Werner Devinck, CEO of Lantmännen Unibake.
“Lantmännen Unibake Norway sees strong growth potential for bake-off products in Norway and our focus is to meet the needs of our foodservice and retail customers. With increased flexibility, tailor-made and locally produced products, the acquisition will expand our current offer. It enables our business to strengthen our sustainability efforts through locally sourced raw materials and locally produced products, while also supporting our target to reduce the CO2 footprint through shorter transportation distances,” says Thomas Bjarkholm, Managing Director of Lantmännen Unibake Norway.
For more information, please contact:
Tine Greve, Director Global Communications at Lantmännen Unibake
Phone: +45 42 82 21 76
E-mail: tine.greve@lantmannen.com
About Lantmännen Unibake
Lantmännen Unibake is a leading international bakery company within the Lantmännen Group. With expertise in fresh and frozen bakery products for food service and retail, the aim is to make bread and pastry a profitable business for customers through high-quality products and innovative solutions and based on a sustainable mind-set and excellent food safety standards. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Lantmännen Unibake operates 30+ bakeries around the world and has sales in more than 60 countries. The brand portfolio comprises a range of well-established brands: Hatting, Vaasan, Schulstad, Schulstad Bakery Solutions, Schulstad Royal Danish Pastry, Bonjour and others. Lantmännen Unibake has a turnover of EUR 1.2 Billion and employs 6,000 people in more than 20 countries. www.lantmannen-unibake.com
About Lantmännen
Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. Owned by 20,000 Swedish farmers, we have 10,000 employees, operations in over 20 countries and an annual turnover of SEK 50 Billion. With grain at the heart of our operations, we refine arable land resources to make farming thrive. Some of our best-known food brands are AXA, Bonjour, Kungsörnen, GoGreen, Gooh, FINN CRISP, Schulstad and Vaasan. Our company is founded on the knowledge and values acquired through generations of farmers. With research, development and operations throughout the value chain, together we take responsibility from field to fork. For more information: www.lantmannen.com
About French Bakery Company AS
French Bakery Company AS was originally established in Oslo in 1985 to produce quality bread products for the HORECA business - in 2009 the bakery moved to facilities outside of Drammen. The bakery combines modern technology with traditional baking methods and produces frozen bake-off bread (premium whole loaves, baguettes and portion bread), raw dough products (hvetebakst) and consumer packed products primarily for retail. French Bakery Company is ISO/FSSC 22000-certified.
