Hansa sees benefit from Arla merger

The merger between Arla Foods and the north German Hansa Milch coop, finalised only a year ago, is already proving beneficial for Hansa performance. Even by the end of 2011 with only nine months of Arla association, Hansa turnover had been boosted by 11% to €396 million. Milk collection from the former German coop’s farmers scattered through Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was up by 18% compared with 2010, according to Hansa chairman Manfred Remus.

The results are also welcomed by the Arla board as part of openly planned expansion throughout Germany. Even 20 years ago Swedish Arla saw the northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea as Scandinavia’s ideal new dairyland – offering a strategic foothold for the company’s expansion southwards. Its target is to become, as soon as possible, one of the three largest dairy concerns in Germany.