Today Sybren Attema, Chairman of the Board of Zuivelcoöperatie FrieslandCampina U.A, and Jan Derck van Karnebeek, CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina N.V., discussed the upcoming autumn members’ meetings with several Dutch trade journalists. During the informal update session, several topics were addressed, including the progress of Expedition 2030, the performance outlook for 2024, the Chairmanship of the cooperative and planned investments.
With Sybren Attema’s term as Chairman of the Board set to expire in November 2025, he has been asked to extend his chairmanship of the cooperative’s Board and the Supervisory Board of Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. by two years. This requires a temporary amendment to the articles of association, which will be voted on by the Members’ Council on 10 December 2024.
Said Attema: “I appreciate the trust placed in me and have expressed my willingness to remain available. It is crucial to ensure that FrieslandCampina is a future-proof and leading dairy player, so we can continue to provide a good living for our farmers.”
Jan Derck van Karnebeek provided an update on the progress of Expedition 2030, FrieslandCampina’s strategic programme. The restructuring into seven business groups has created focus on the various product-market combinations and the valorisation of the members’ milk. In the first half of 2024, FrieslandCampina had a strong start, with a recovery in profit margins and improved market positions. The cash position also improved significantly during the first half-year, despite ongoing inflation and economic uncertainties.
Added Van Karnebeek: “The first half of 2024 has provided us with a solid foundation for our full-year results and the good results have continued in the third quarter. While we must always account for unforeseen events, our current profit expectations are positive. Based on this, we expect our member dairy farmers to receive a supplementary cash payment over 2024.”
FrieslandCampina continues to invest in growth and sustainability. In that context, Van Karnebeek announced a 30 million euros investment in the expansion of the whey processing capacity in Workum (the Netherlands). The whey supplied by the adjacent cheese factory will be converted into high-quality protein products for sports nutrition, medical nutrition, and infant formula. This investment project also includes replacing a gas-fired evaporator with sustainable filtration systems. This replacement is expected to result in a 6.8 kton CO2 reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and save 350,000 m³ of drinking water annually. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2026.
