News

2 October 2017

SPEED DATING WITH DANISH COMPANIES

In September, IFU's project company Coexca visited Denmark and Poland to establish contacts with potential suppliers with knowledge and know-how about pig production and equipment.

In May 2017, IFU invested USD 12 million in the Chilean company Coexca, which has activities in slaughterhouse operations, meat processing and pig production. The investment was made with the prospect of a significant Danish economic interest as Coexca plans to expand production and therefore is looking for suppliers of a number of products in both pig production, slaughterhouse operations and meat processing. In September, IFU arranged a visit for Coexca in Denmark and Poland with the purpose of visiting Danish and Polish companies working with pig production, slaughterhouse operations or machinery and equipment.

Danish standards in Poland

The tour began in Przechlewo, Poland, where the company representatives from Coexca visited the pig producer Poldanor S.A. and the slaughterhouse and meat processing company Prime Food Sp.z o.o., two companies in which IFU’s sister fund, the Investment Fund for Central and Eastern Europe (IØ), has previously been a shareholder. At Poldanor, the representatives among other things got to experience how an older Polish pig farm has been upgraded to Danish standards and the genetics have been shifted to Danbred genetics to increase the production of piglets.

The second stop was in Kolding, where Coexca visited SB Foods A / S in Brørup, a slaughterhouse that has expanded the production of slaughter pigs from 300,000 to 1.7 million annually within the existing building framework. The visit to Kolding also included a visit to the company Frontmatec that specializes in machinery and equipment for slaughterhouses and the meat processing industry.

Offers from Danish suppliers

The tour ended at IFU’s headquarters in Copenhagen, where six Danish companies specialised in e.g. slurry handling, biogas, feed mills and ventilation were invited to showcase their products and know-how.

The meetings in Denmark and Poland have already resulted in concrete offers from the Danish companies, which will be discussed by Coexca’s management back in Chile.

– The visit from Coexca shows that IFU can do much more than provide risk capital. Through our network, we can act as a facilitator between the companies that have a demand and the companies that can supply. This is also one of the reasons why Coexca chose IFU as a partner as they not only wanted a financial partner but also one that could add further additionality to their business, says Max Kruse, Vice President of Agribusiness in IFU.