Ter Beke expands Dutch presence with Langeveld aquisition

The acquisition, which sees the Belgian food producer taking over 100 per cent of the shares of Langeveld Sleegers with retroactive effect as of 1 January 2005, means that Ter Beke now owns one of the largest slicers and packagers of processed meats in the Netherlands.

In 2004 Langeveld achieved a turnover of more than €30 million with 100 employees.

With this transaction, Ter Beke has confirmed its strategic choice for processed meats as one of its two core businesses, along with fresh Mediterranean ready meals. This acquisition is of great importance for the development of the firm's processed meats division within the Ter Beke group, as the pre-packaged processed meats market in the self-service channel is growing vigorously across Europe.

The Dutch market is one of the trendsetters in this development, which is illustrated by the fact that pre-packaged processed meats already represent 90 per cent of the total processed meats market. This market segment is being strongly driven by the retail sector, which needs specialised suppliers that offer high-quality and innovation within an increasingly crowded market.

Ter Beke believes that Langeveld offers a great diversity of packaging techniques to various major retailers on the Dutch market. Through the acquisition of a service specialist without its own production, Ter Beke is strengthening its position in this growth segment of processed meats in a way that reduces its dependency on the evolution of raw material prices.

Ter Beke has been active in the Dutch market since 1972, which has become its second domestic market for processed meats. The company has been able to build up a solid reputation as a quality producer in the over-the-counter channel.

Through the acquisition of Langeveld, Ter Beke is hopes to reinforce this Dutch identity, and achieve a critical scale in the field of pre-packaged processed meats in the self-service channel. This, argues the company, is important for further growth in the Dutch retail market.

Ter Beke says that from the very first year, the takeover of Langeveld, which is paid in cash, will make a positive contribution to the consolidated results of the Ter Beke group.

In 2004 Ter Beke achieved a turnover of more than €35 million in the Netherlands. With the acquisition of Langeveld, Ter Beke expects to be able to double that figure in 2005.

Ter Beke​ is a Belgian fresh food group with seven divisions including five in Belgium, one in the Netherlands and one in France. The group recorded a gross turnover of over €200 million last year.