Denmark

Today's market demands companies that deliver a complete range of solutions to customers. In September 2000, Kelco Biopolymers and Copenhagen Pectin joined forces and formed CP Kelco. Combining their strengths in technology, experience, and knowledge, CP Kelco has emerged a force to be reckoned with.

Employing 1,850 people worldwide, the company sells its products in more than 100 countries. This serves as a platform for sales currently reaching around $450 million. On the atmosphere the merger has created, CP Kelco's managing director Per Birk-Sorensen explains: "I don't see that it has been a major change. It is of course different having one company that focuses entirely on our segment of the industry - hydrocolloids. So there's a lot more focus today."

A global leader in this specialized business, CP Kelco supplies several sectors, including food, industry and oil. Despite the wide range of industries for which the company provides products, food is by far the most important to their business, accounting for between 60 and 70 percent of turnover.

"Today the food side is clearly the most important one. That is where all our products fit and that is where we have the largest share," states Birk-Sorensen.

Despite the importance of the food industry, Birk-Sorensen also remains focused the importance of the oil fields, noting that the other markets will not be overlooked and will be addressed to gain greater market share.

Managing Director Per Birk-Sorensen has seen his company's merger both widen and sharpen its focus on key specialized sectors.

With manufacturing sites in the US, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, Philippines and Britain, CP Kelco operates on a global scale. In fact, less than 2 percent of its sales come from the Danish market. With an extensive international presence and sales, the company must operate on global standards; and one thing global clients demand is that a wide range of products be available to them.

Luckily, CP Kelco has set themselves in good stead, with their merger giving them the broadest product portfolio in the market. This diversity of offerings allows them to compete with other companies like Danisco, Degussa and Rhodia.

With better quality and a wider range of products combined with technology, CP Kelco is well-known to its clients. The managing director comments: "We are aiming at business to business customers."

With such tailoring to markets it is no surprise that multinationals like Nestle, Unilever, and Kraft call themselves clients of CP Kelco.

In Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, China and Japan are all of huge importance to the company. Japan is their third largest market, with all major dairy companies there are their clients. "Japan is very important to us," says Birk-Sorensen, whose pointman for the country and the neighboring markets is George W. Littlecott, Vice President for Commercial & Business.

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