August 30, 2006

 

Trouw Nutrition International reaches agreement in principle to acquire Sloten Group B.V.

 

Press release

 

Trouw Nutrition International B.V. (TNI) and Sloten Group B.V. have announced Trouw's planned acquisition of Sloten.

 

Sloten is a Dutch manufacturer and worldwide supplier of milk replacers for calves, piglets and other young animals.  It has a workforce of about 130 and achieved revenues of approximately  EUR90  million  in  2005. 

 

This move makes Trouw Nutrition International the leading player in the world market for milk replacers for young  replacement animals. The acquisition also strengthens TNI's position in  important  growth  markets  such as Central and South America, Asia and Russia.

 

Sloten  Group  B.V.  produces  and  distributes  almost  100,000  tonnes  of speciality  feeds  annually,  based  on dairy products such as whey powder, skimmed  milk  powder  and  vegetable  products.  These  innovative  feeds, designed  to give young animals a good start and a healthy development, are

compounded   from  proteins,  high-quality  vegetable  oils,  vitamins  and minerals, among other products.

 

The milk  replacers  are  sold  in  more than 60 countries worldwide under international  well-known brand names Sprayfo, Nuklospray and Spraymes. In the  Netherlands,  Germany,  Italy,  Poland  and Brazil, Sloten has its own sales  organisations,  and  in  other  countries,  it  sells  through  local distributors. 

 

More  than  90 percent of the animal feeds produced by Sloten Group B.V. in the Sloten and Deventer (the Netherlands) plants are destined for export. The company has its own Research and Development organisation and farms where new feed formulations for young animals are tested.

 

Juergen Steinemann, Chief Operating Officer at Nutreco, said, "Sloten Group B.V., which has been in existence for almost 50 years, is an exceptional company. It  has  succeeded  in  developing  both an innovative product portfolio of speciality  feeds  for  young animals and an extensive distribution network for its products carrying internationally recognised brand names."

 

"After  our management buy-out in 1996, we feel this is the right moment to strengthen  our  worldwide  position in milk replacers and dairy based feed ingredients,  in  order  to  be  the global market leader. We believe Trouw Nutrition  International is the ideal partner to ensure the continuation of our  company,"  said  Steffen  Rouwers, operations director of Sloten Group B.V.

 

Willem  Kernkamp,  the  newly  appointed  managing director of Sloten Group B.V., commented, "The  people  at  Sloten  Group  can  be  proud  of the established product portfolio and leading market positions. In the coming years, we will further expand  our  international  leading  positions in high-quality young animal feed products."

 

Trouw  Nutrition International is the global leader in premixes, innovative feed  specialities  and  nutritional  services  for  the  animal  nutrition industry. The  company  has  locations  in  25  countries and about 1,400 employees.  Since 1931,  its feed to food solutions have met the needs of feed  producers,  integrators, distributors and home mixers, as well as the companion animal industry.

 

For more information, visit: www.trouwnutrition.com