'Belgium now second home market for A-ware'

"We look at the needs of our customers, at opportunities that arise, at timing." Anker looks thoughtfully ahead and searches for the right words: "You can say that we are enterprising, but always with a long-term goal in mind. I can't say much about Olympia yet, because the Belgian Competition Authority (BMA) is still considering the takeover. has to inspect, but both the Hollebeekhoeve and Olympia came our way. They were opportunities that presented themselves and that fit our plans."

Both produce, among other things, fresh dairy.
"Yes, both are also an addition to our package. For example, in addition to drinking dairy and yoghurt, Hollebeekhoeve also makes UHT milk and 'flat cheese', as the Belgians call cottage cheese, while Olympia also makes desserts and butter. Olympia's independence we want to keep."

If the takeover of Olympia is approved, A-ware will soon have four operations in Belgium: La Concorde with butter and cream, Aalter with milk powders, and Kruibeke and Olympia with fresh dairy products, among other things. Are you ready then, so to speak?
"We are originally a cheese company, but we do not yet have cheese production in Belgium."

And thus?
"That is the way it is. Belgium is now our second home market, where we are for the longer term. There are high-quality dairy farmers who supply high-quality milk. We can offer them further growth opportunities. We are still open to new milk suppliers ."

You pay a good milk price in Belgium, sometimes higher than in the Netherlands. What's up with that?
"Our dairy business in Belgium is a separate activity. We do not redistribute milk money and do not transfer money from the Netherlands to Belgium or vice versa. We do not subsidize anything. Our powder and cream activities in Belgium yield a good milk price. That is a milk price that We publish in advance. Many Belgian companies do it differently. We believe that our dairy farmers have the right to know in advance what their milk payment will be. We also think it shows entrepreneurship to do it this way."

You are active as a producer or producer in the making in four other European countries: Switzerland, Italy, Estonia and Ireland. In the last country you had to wait a long time for a permit to build. Has that affected the plans yet?
"We were only able to start a year later than we wanted, but the plans haven't changed. That wouldn't make sense for a company with long-term plans. We know what we want and we start working on that. We also still sell a larger amount of product, especially cheese, than we produce ourselves."

With so many activities across the border, is there any attention left for the Dutch market?
"The Dutch dairy market is our first home market and it will remain that way. We want to remain attractive to enterprising Dutch farmers. That is why we still have the door open to new suppliers, both in Belgium and the Netherlands. And not only that; we are expanding at our fresh dairy company in Coevorden, and a permit application is underway for a significant expansion of the factory in Heereenveen. We have 25 hectares of land there, of which 13 hectares are built on. When we consider the time is right, we want to be able to start building a new factory. Finally, we are also investing in new packaging lines at various locations."

Plenty of plans, but many people are looking concerned at all the government's future plans. Are there still opportunities for dairy farming?
"I also see that many dairy farms are closing down and that there are more and more rules that must be met. Yet I see that there is and remains sufficient room for enterprising farmers for healthy business operations, both in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Dairy farmers have proven to be good to cope with changes."