TRADE AND MARKET I NG es of KWS Potato abandons its defined ‘Early, Far and Fresh’ strategy. ’That’s now possible’, says the Stet Holland Director, ‘because the activities of Stet Holland and KWS Potato complement each other. KWS Potato has mainly crisps and French-fry varieties. A major part of their programme also consists of fresh products, but when you zoom in on the areas where the company sold their fresh consumption varieties, you won’t find much overlap. For us the take-over is almost the ideal fit. If you look further at the segments, it’s clear that everything that entails crisps and chips is important for us and offers the opportunity to develop further. Some of the taken-over varieties also fit in our current strategy. We’ve established, for example, that the fresh market has a growing need for fresh varieties that also chip very well. The KWS Potato Santana is a good example that fits in our range of special varieties in the fresh segment and, because of its excellent processing qualities, supplements our present range’, Ton explains. Further internationalisation ‘Provided that nothing goes wrong, we’ll start on 30 June. The 2015 crop year will then have ended and from the 2016 crop year onwards, we intend to start taking over the sales’, says Ton. ‘From 1 July 2016 onwards, as a team, we’ll explain the take-over to our stakeholders (customers, growers, etc.) to show them the direction we at Stet Holland intend to go. We’ll then also have to live up to the expectations of the market. In 2017, the next phase will be a strategic reorientation. We’ll then check out how the qualities of both companies are distinctive in order to become stronger in the market. After this take-over, we’ll still have a fully independent position within the HZPC group and we’ll continue to operate fully independently in the market, also in the future’, Ton explains proudly. With the foreign market in mind, Ton FROM NOW ON, KWS POTATO WILL FOCUS FULLY ON HYBRID POTATO BREEDING In 2013, KWS Potato invested over 12 million euros in the Polder breeding station in Nagele to give a stimulus to new technological developments in international potato breeding. The former CEO of parent company KWS SAAT AG, Philip von dem Bussche, had ambitious plans. In an exclusive interview he said in that year: ‘It’s our aim to become a worldwide market leader in the domain of technology. The fact that hobby breeders are still playing in the premier league says much about the introduction of innovation. The entire sector was eager to see whether, with these challenging claims and visions, the successful German seed giant would indeed be able to reach a leading position in the seed potato sector. It transpired this month that this wasn’t the case unless the company were to introduce a new revenue model in the potato sector with the highlycommended hybrid breeding also mentioned in the interview. Putting your money on technology According to the current KWS Potato Director, Roland Peerenboom, the revenue model in the present seed potato trade doesn’t really fit the parent organisation’s shareholder philosophy. ‘After the 50 percent take-over of shares in seed potato trading company Van Rijn in 2008 and the full take-over in 2011, every five years the shareholders review whether or not an investment still fits the company philosophy. If you really want to play a significant role in the seed potato trade, you need to go for it completely and give it your trust, as it will still take quite some time to get our company back into positive figures. Looking at the future, we have enough good material in the pipeline. But it will take at least three to four years before that starts contributing to our operating results. In fact, I see two movements in the seed potato trade. You are either a small, lean and mean organisation with a few very successful varieties which will help you along. Or you need to put your money on the quantities that Stet Holland will now have. That’s a guarantee for success, he explains. ‘KWS wants to put its money on technology which is why, at KWS Potato BV, we’ll radically move the focus to the hybrid breeding work’, he explains. ‘Breeding hybrid potatoes and multiplying from seed instead of seed potatoes is a new but promising approach which offers considerable advantages compared to conventional breeding techniques. We’ve been working on this innovation ever since 2011 and have made considerable progress’, Peter Hofmann, member of the KWS SAAT SE Management Board, adds. tells us that, at all events, the foreign production of KWS Potato in Great Britain, France, Poland and Russia will be taken over. ‘Because this is an assets deal that excludes the KWS Potato farm, buildings and hybrid breeding programme, for example, we have to see exactly how the new staff situation will work out. In order to be able to carry out all the extra activities, it’s quite clear that most of the present KWS Potato staff will be needed in the new management situation’, Ton explains. ● Jaap Delleman Potato World 2016 • number 2 11 Pagina 10
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