Lactalis adds Swedish dairy to stable

A foothold in the Swedish dairy market – where per capita milk consumption is almost double that of France – and a gateway to sales in neighbouring Scandinavian countries are listed by Lactalis management as important reasons for the takeover of Skanemejerier in Sweden. Currently, per capita annual milk consumption in Sweden runs at 131 litres while the figure in France is just 70 litres.

The planned EUR120 million purchase brings Lactalis a four-plant dairy business in the south Swedish Scania region processing 353 million kg with a turnover equivalent to EUR330 million. Sk&aring,nemejerier is number two in the Swedish processor league with a 12% share of the country’s milk. Number one, Arla Foods, processes around 63%. But by taking over the country’s third dairy, Milko, should be handling over 70% of deliveries by the end of this year.

With its takeover of Skanemejerier, the French-based Lactalis dairy adds further to its 14 billion litres milk per year processing total in 198 plants worldwide. The Lactalis turnover is reckoned to be just short of EUR15 billion for 2011. Since the Besnier family concern’s takeover of the Italian Parmalat company last year the dairy now claims to the largest marketer of dairy products in the world.

Its latest Swedish purchase not only offers a solid base for direct confrontation with major European competitor Arla on the latter’s homeground, it also secures one of the most innovative dairies on the European scene – in reality a mini mirror-image of Lactalis itself.

Skanemejerier has a tradition of confronting Arla’s market dominance in Sweden, and more recently in the Danish market , with pioneering innovations that have kept the smaller dairy and its products in the public eye. These included probiotic yogurt (with Lactobacillus plantarum 299v) in 1995, followed by lactose-free yogurt and then its own label for organically produced milk. Then came complete traceability from customer to farm for many of its dairy products. Scania is also thought to be the first dairy in Europe to introduce climate-neutral cheese as part of its carbon reduction programme with the introduction of extensive energy recycling throughout the company’s milk plants and depots.