Sykes Seafood, an independent seafood supplier based in Manchester, England, has announced the acquisition of Dutch Seafood Company’s shrimp activities.
Formed in 2018 by the merger of Klaas Puul Beheer and Foppen Groep B.V., Dutch Seafood Company is now selling its shrimp holdings to focus on Foppen’s smoked salmon business, according to a company press release.
The acquisition is expected to close in February 2020, subject to regulatory and works council approvals. The two companies are already working together “to ensure a smooth transition for Klaas Puul, to the benefit of its customers, suppliers, and employees,” according to Sykes Seafood.
“The combination of Sykes Seafood and Klaas Puul will create a EUR 300 million [USD 332.5 million] pan-European seafood business with expertise in all species of shrimp that will offer customers across Europe a wide range of high-quality products in chilled and frozen formats for the retail, foodservice, and manufacturing sectors,” Sykes Seafood said.
Klaas Puul processes shrimp at facilities in Tangier, Morocco, as well as in Volendam and Edam, The Netherlands. In 2017, it had approximately EUR 175 million (USD 206 million) in sales. The firm was sold by the family of founder Evert Mooijer in August 2016 to H2 Equity Partners. In June 2017, it opened its new processing facility and corporate headquarters in Volendam.
In June 2018, Klaas Puul merged with Foppen to form Dutch Seafood Company, which became the second-largest seafood company in The Netherlands, behind Katwijk-based Parlevliet and Van der Plas. The larger company pulled Klaas Puul shrimp production out of Denmark and Germany after it contributed “substantial capital investment” into its infrastructure at the Volendam plant.
At the 2019 Seafood Expo North America, U.S. sales director Remko Vedder told SeafoodSource that DSC was working on innovating new value-added shrimp products specifically for the U.S. market. DSC Chief Commercial Officer Wilbert Vedder told SeafoodSource Foppen and Klaas Puul were finding synergies after their merger.
“One of the intentions of the merger was to do cross-selling and share concepts, so that we’re selling shrimp to salmon customers and vice versa. Foppen as a company was not unknown with shrimp and Klaas Puul was the same with salmon but it was not their focus,” he said. “But now we have a high-profile brand that can bring in a lot of attention, and that’s helping us rapidly expand distribution-wise.”
That strategy appears to have changed with the sale of Klaas Puul’s assets to Sykes Seafood.
For its part, Sykes said it was attracted to Klaas Puul due to its “brand, trusted reputation, and loyal employees, who have helped to build a market leading business in Europe, which compliments Sykes’ operations in the U.K.”
“The two businesses already share many synergies and similarities. The joining of the two businesses will provide a solid background for future growth and allow greater efficiencies in sourcing and production expertise. Both businesses operate highly efficient and automated production facilities which are configured for high-quality and high-volume production outputs,” Sykes Seafood said. “The Sykes Seafood management team very much look forward to working with Klaas Puul’s customers, suppliers and employees to continue to build a respected, progressive business that supports our industry for years to come.”
