| | By Hannah Christina Thompson, DABF Intern
Quick facts about Hamlet Protein:
- Hamlet Protein, headquartered in Denmark, enjoys a global reputation as a supplier of unique and innovative soy protein solutions for use in a wide variety of feed applications.
- The company had a turnover of app. 300 million DKK (2010) and has app. 60 employees in Denmark. An additional 20 employees have joined the company to support business activities in the NAFTA region.
- Polaris Private Equity acquired the majority of shares in 2007.
Hamlet Protein has been exporting products worldwide since the company first started 18 years ago. In January 2012 they’ll take their worldwide presence to the next level with a new factory in Findlay, Ohio. We asked Vivi Stensdal, Vice President of Human Resources, to explain the process of establishing this new US factory.
Hamlet Protein's new production facility in Findlay, Ohio
According to Vivi, the project has been long in the making. Hamlet Protein appointed a US sales representative five years ago to build and assess their place in the US market. This resulted in documented proof of a booming market for Hamlet Protein’s unsurpassed technology. During Summer 2010, a project manager was appointed to evaluate 14 states for the final factory location. Hamlet had various criteria for the location: access to raw material, quality of the soybean meal in the state of question, logistics, energy costs, and workforce availability. Eventually, they narrowed it down to two states: Ohio and Indiana. Findlay, Ohio provided the best location with plenty of land. Finding a building that was already established also minimized their risk and start up time.
The factory will consist entirely of American employees. A Danish Project Manager is currently working for Hamlet there to manage the building process and to participate in a planned expansion of the factory during 2012. To help them find the right people, they found a national recruiting company specializing in the agro and food industry. Moreover, the state of Ohio offers an incentive package to new businesses. Part of this incentive package is working with a state organization called Job Solutions. Vivi explains that this has been very helpful in the recruiting process, especially since the organization specifically caters to businesses in Ohio.
The biggest challenge in this whole process has been gaining market proof that there is a market for them in the US. Now that this obstacle has been overcome, the next challenge will be getting the factory up and running. Hamlet Protein is expanding their current capacity by 25%, and for a company consisting of only 60 people, that is quite a jump. However, because they have the right resources and the right people looking after the project, Vivi is confident that the transition will run smoothly.
Vivi Stensdal concludes, “Hamlet protein has come a long way since our start-up days 18 years ago. I’m not sure we could have made this big jump without Polaris, current the majority owner of Hamlet Protein, and without the committed and competent people we have working in and around the project”.
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