Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon farmer Multi X – previously known as Multiexport Foods – has announced Fernando Pérez Saavedra will replace Ricardo Grunwald as the company's business manager.
Pérez Saavedra’s is currently the business manager at Chilean salmon farmer Ventisqueros, where he has worked for nearly four years, according to LinkedIn. He previous worked for six years at Multi X as a sales manager, and for two years at energy firm Colbún, where he evaluated and developed renewable energy projects.
“Fernando knows our company and has the skills and knowledge necessary to take on the new challenges that Multi X faces in the future, which include the development of a private-brand architecture and value-added products that go directly to the consumer,” Multi X General Manager Cristián Swett said.
Grunwald has decided to step down to take on other challenges, Multi X said, but will continue as a Multi X consultant on new business development and directly advising the business manager.
Multi X Executive President José Ramón Gutiérrez praised Grunwald and his career at the company, stating that “a large part of Multi X’s development and success is due to the immense contribution that Ricardo has made in his almost 30 years leading the business area, a period in which the company's sales grew more than 20 times."
"This has meant a huge challenge in production, processes, and sales that, fortunately, we have managed to face successfully, which is largely due to Ricardo's commitment," Ramón Gutiérrez said.
Both Gutiérrez and Swett announced Multi X's rebranding on 2 September, emphasizing the company’s commitment to sustainable development and in defining products for different types of consumers around the world.
Founded in 1987, Multi X has more than 2,600 employees and handles some 100,000 metric tons of salmon a year, with expectations to increase this to 125,000 metric tons by 2023. It has farming operations in southern Chile’s regions IX, X, XI, and XII and is present throughout the salmon-production chain, from reproduction to distribution to more than 30 countries. It claims to be the only salmon farm in the world present in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index.
Multi X reported Q2 operating income of USD 150 million (EUR 127 million), surging 73.4 percent when compared to the same period of 2020 and 11.9 percent higher than the first quarter of 2021. The company attributed the increases to a strong recovery in the hotel, restaurant, and catering sector, and high demand from the U.S. retail sector, with average sales prices at USD 6.17 (EUR 5.21) per kilogram whole-fish equivalent (WFE), versus USD 4.40 (EUR 3.71) per kilogram WFE in the same period last year.
Photo courtesy of LinkedIn
