Emmi sells US aseptic business

Emmi has sold its production facility for aseptic dairy products in the US to the Kansas-based KanPak, a Golden State Foods partnership. As a leader in the development and manufacturing of all aseptic products, KanPak has the ability to grow the production site in Penn Yan at a faster rate, allowing Emmi to dedicate more resources to reinforce its position in the speciality cheese business. The purchase contract has signed on 28 November 2014, and the transaction is set to be completed on 18 December 2014.

In August 2010, Emmi acquired Casp, a contract aseptic and speciality packaging company headquartered in Penn Yan, New York. Emmi then built production facility for fresh dairy and aseptic products. The potential of this facility prompted KanPak to enter into discussions with Emmi regarding the purchase of the assets of Emmi Penn Yan.

KanPak is a specialist in the contract manufacturing of aseptic speciaolty products, meaning that it operates in the core business area of Emmi Penn Yan. By contrast, Emmi has a strong focus on branded dairy consumer goods. In the US, Emmi concentrates in the production of specialty cheeses. Its core business does not include contract manufacturing for third parties. With its focus on contract manufacturing, KanPak will be able to grow the production site of Penn Yan even faster than Emmi, and will therefore prove to be the better owner of this plant. The acquisition of Emmi Penn Yan will allow KanPak to further diversify its US customers, expand production and drive growth.

Emmi Penn Yan generates revenues of $30 million (€24m).

According to Matthias Kunz, senior vice president Americas at Emmi, “Emmi Penn Yan is a state-of-the-art production facility that has convinced KanPak. As a specialist for manufacturing of aseptic products, KanPak is in a good position to rapidly develop the site in Penn Yan. This is what persuaded us to go ahead with the sale.”