CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY Dewulf and Miedema move forward together as a new full liner however, that you don’t have any control over the companies you work with. The same applies vice versa. During our discussions with Miedema, we quickly came to the conclusion that if we wanted to collaborate, we had ‘to get married’. And it soon became clear that, looking at the turnover of each com‘The choice of brand name, colours of machinery and a uniform company presentation will take shape in the coming period.’ pany, the party to take over was leaning towards Dewulf. As we’d had some negative experience with fifty-fifty ratios in shareholdings, we opted for a ratio of 72 percent of shares for the owners of Dewulf and 28 percent for the owners of Miedema. The Miedema shareholders didn’t object, so we could move the process forward by taking over the shares of limited partners such as the Noordelijke Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (NOM) [Northern Development Company]. The takeover is especially important to us because it gives us opportunities in new markets. We know that entrepreneurs in new and technologically-developed areas like to buy complete potato mechanisation packages. Moreover, there usually aren’t too many local potato specialists around in these areas. When there are more parties targeting a market, as a full liner you can offer your potential partners a better deal.’ How is the company going to continue? Decramer: ‘The fact that the present Miedema management will go on as shareholders gives us confidence, because this is certain to guarantee continuity for the future. We’re really moving forward together. In addition, Miedema shareholders won’t be paid based on the Winsum results, but on the performance of the total DeWulf Group. We think it important to use the synergy of the two companies as much as possible. Mangnus: ‘We’ll first continue to operate side-by-side, each with our own distribution network. We can still become much more efficient as far as distribution is concerned though. First, we’re going to integrate the sales and marketing departments; the benefits of scale in the sales departments will then ultimately reach the synergies of other departments, R&D, for example. This process will evolve in the coming period. The first change for the Miedema machinery will be that it will be delivered in the red-and-grey Dewulf colours. Sima 2015 will be the first trade fair where we’ll be together in the same stand.’ How complementary are Dewulf and Miedema in the market? Decramer: ‘As Guido was just saying, we’ll be working on expansion in the more distant countries. Miedema has been active in Russia in the past twenty years, for example. They have their own back office and production location there. Dewulf has only been active in that country for the last ten years, through the exporter APH in Heerenveen. For now, these two distribution channels can exist together, but we’ll have to discuss this with all our partners. Dewulf has been working together with APH for twelve years now. The Frisian company has a great deal of knowledge about export and markets, but these things are changing. Look at the export to countries in Central Europe, for example. They were almost inaccessible ten years ago. Many are now EU Members and therefore much easier to reach. Meanwhile, Dewulf also has its own office in Romania now, which makes it easier for us to enter the East-European market. But countries such as China and India are a different story altogether. Perhaps APH can continue to help us there. We need to focus on each other’s strengths. The coming months will show how this is going to develop. Export to North America and Canada are, again, completely different stories. Miedema already has a dealer network there, which Dewulf can also start using. In turn, Dewulf is stronger in a country such as France, which isn’t a very easy market for most Dutch companies. What is your best trump card? Mangnus: ‘We both operate in our market with a passion and that’s our greatest strength. We have the same ideas as regards ‘We need to focus on each other’s strengths.’ user-friendliness, reliability and listening to the customers in our markets. It’s important for the future that product development is in good shape and this applies to both of us. If it is, the market will come to you. And so we hope to grow together autonomously in the coming years. ● Jaap Delleman Potato World 2014 • number 4 7 Pagina 46
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