The Dutch-German group of companies is acquiring all the shares in Germany’s largest fish producer and marketer. The acquisition is subject to approval by the competition authorities before the Dutch-German Parlevliet & Van der Plas Group is to acquire Bremerhaven-based Deutsche See GmbH.
Previous owners, Egbert Miebach and Dr Peter Dill, have jointly decided to place their company, Deutsche See, in new management hands following Egbert Miebach’s serious illness last year.
‘This was a really difficult step for us to take, but owing to Egbert’s tragic personal and family circumstances, it is unavoidable,’ explained Dr Peter Dill.
It was particularly important for the entrepreneurs to find a buyer and partner who will continue to manage Deutsche See as an independent entity and successful business as before.
Dirk Jan Parlevliet will join the management of Deutsche See from March. The management team will stay unchanged, and Ulrich Grewe will remain managing director of the company’s production and technology business areas.
Dr Peter Dill will assist the process of integration in the transitional period. No changes are planned to Deutsche See’s successful business model or to the company’s locations.
‘Never change a winning team,’ said Dirk-Jan Parlevliet, speaking on behalf of the Parlevliet and van der Plas (P&P) families in the official announcement to Deutsche See employees.
‘We have a lot of plans. The acquisition of the German fresh fish and seafood specialist and market leader, opens up the possibility for us to enter new and strategically important markets of the future in Germany. I’ll be using my experience gained in the procurement and production markets to continue to lead the fundamentally healthy Deutsche See business into a successful future.’
The P&P and Deutsche See businesses are now vertically connected with each other all the way from catching fish to the plate. As a result, Deutsche See will be able to offer more fish from the German P&P fleet in future, and this with the usual top quality.
The two companies have plenty of shared history already, as P&P has been one of Deutsche See’s suppliers and partners for many years.
The Parlevliet & Van der Plas Group employs more than 6000 people around the world in fishing on over 40 fishing vessels and in processing plants, including Heiploeg and Ouwehand.
Deutsche See employs over 1700 people in 22 locations throughout Germany, supplying food retailing, food services, fine restaurants as well as company and social catering.
Strongly conscious of its ecological, corporate and social responsibility, Deutsche See has been committed to conserving fish stocks for many years, and won the 2010 National German Sustainability Award as Germany’s Most Sustainable Company.
