Foppen and Klaas Puul to merge, forming the Dutch Seafood Company

Shrimp specialist Klaas Puul and salmon processor Foppen have agreed to a merger that will create a new company with combined sales of more than EUR 325 million (USD 382.5 million).

Volendam-based Klaas Puul Beheer and Hardewijk-headquartered Foppen Groep B.V. agreed to merge in an 11 June agreement. The agreement is pending approval from corporate and government authorities, but if and when it is approved, the new entity relaunch as the Dutch Seafood Company. The organization has hired André van der Padt, the former CEO of several food, dairy, and ingredients firms, including Codrico Rotterdam BV, Royal Joh Enschede, Meneba BV, and Continental Bakeries.

"With the merger of these two beautiful organizations, we have a stronger position and we can serve our customers even better,” van der Padt said in a press release. “By applying our joint knowledge and experience in our processes, we can respond even better to market wishes and opportunities.”

Foppen is a salmon smoker with production sites in The Netherlands and Greece. It is a major supplier to Costco in Europe and the United States, and had EUR 150 million (USD 176.5 million) in sales in 2017.

"The merger with Klaas Puul gives us greater innovation and the ability to provide a multifaceted offering to the world market,” Foppen owner Jan Foppen said. “This enables us to offer our customers high-quality salmon in the future and continue to provide shrimp products, always meeting the highest standards in food safety and consistent production quality.”

Klaas Puul processes shrimp at facilities in Morocco, The Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. In 2017, it had approximately EUR 175 million (USD 206 million) in sales. The firm was sold by the family of Evert Mooijer in August 2016 to H2 Equity Partners. In June 2017, it opened a new processing facility and corporate headquarters in Volendam. Mooijer passed away in April 2018 following a long illness.

Klaas Puul CEO Sander van den Berg said the merger made sense for his firm and offered a lucrative opportunity to the newly formed company in regard to market expansion.

"Our new production facilities for shrimp processing in Volendam and Edam, the combination offers flexibility and extra production capacity, leaving room for further development of our product and customer portfolio at both national and international level,” van den Berg said.

According to Dutch business journal Quote, H2 Equity Partners has purchased a controlling interest in Dutch Seafood Company, but not a majority interest, while the Mooijer and Foppen families will also hold an interest in the new company.

The combined sales of the Dutch Seafood Company will make it the second-largest seafood company in The Netherlands, behind Katwijk-based Parlevliet and Van der Plas.