Nove looks to make a new start

Meat producer ZM Nove had revenues of zł.170 million in 2005/2006 (its financial year starts in September). This year, the company's president, Jens Damgaard Hansen, expects the figure to grow by 15 percent to around zł.200 million. While the firm made a loss of zł.10 million last year, Hansen expects it to break even this year.

The company wants to achieve growth by increasing its presence in traditional wholesale distribution. This accounts for 46 percent of the firm's revenue, while 30 percent of sales come from super- and hypermarkets. "We want to be present on the wholesale market as it is getting stronger," Hansen said, pointing to recent mergers between Polish distribution companies.

Based on the experience of its Danish mother company, ZM Nove is also launching healthier products, like meat with reduced salt and meat enriched with Omega 3 fatty acids.

ZM Nove's plant in northern Poland is owned by Danish meat producer Tican, which acquired full control at the end of 2006. Tican previously had a 50-percent stake in ZM Nove and acquired the remaining 50 percent from another Danish firm, Prime Foods. "They were making losses and Tican bought the stake for just zł.1," Hansen explained.

Last year, 24 percent of the company's revenues came from foreign sales. The main export markets are the UK and Scandinavia, mainly Denmark and Sweden. Nordic countries account for 70 percent of total exports.

ZM Nove currently employs 380 people in Poland, and Hansen implied that this should increase by "at least another 50."