Valio in Finland Valio Ltd is by far the largest dairy in Finland, as the milk volume of the company exceeds 80% of the total 2,300 million liters of milk produced annually in Finland. Valio is the market leader in all key dairy product groups in Finland and a world class pioneer as developer of functional foods. The company has a net turnover at 1.8 billion Euros and has an average staff of 4.400 employees. Beside Valio’s Emmental, Baby Muenster is a successful cheese brand. (Photo: Valio)
and some of Valio’s functional foods; LGG buttermilk and Evolus.
Brands
Dairy production The 1.800 million liters of raw milk processed at the Valio Group dairies is produced in Finland on approx. 10.000 family-owned dairy farms that typically have 21 cows and 37 hectares of pasture. Valio Ltd has 15 production plants in Finland scattered from Mid-Finland to the South producing the company’s milk, cheeses, yoghurts, butters, ice cream, juice/ berry, milk powders and demineralized whey powders, baby-foods. The primary plants for Valio’s world famous cheese brands Finlandia and Valio Emmental we find in Toholampi and Vantaa. Two other large plants are situated in Mid-Finland in Haapavesi and in Lapinlahti, and they produce cheeses like Oltermanni and Edam. The two largest Valio plants are Riihimäki, just north of Helsinki and newly built Seinäjoki in Mid-Finland, and they totals a milk intake of 620 million kg, which is one-third of all Valio milk. The employees at these two dairies exceed 700 and the production is milk, cream, fermented milk, yoghurt, butter, powders, cottage cheese
8
MÆLKERITIDENDE 2010
Approximately one-third of Valios total milk volume is used for cheese production and half of these are exported mainly to Europe and USA under brands as Finlandia, Valio’s Emmental. Another successful cheese brand is Baby Muenster. Valio is regarded as a world market pioneer within the functional foods segment. LGG® products (Valio Gefilus® and Valio Kidius Gefilus®) and Evolus® are the company’s functional product brands, and they are sold as licensed technology.
Subsidiaries Besides being the leading brand in Finland, Valio is also well positioned to the West in Sweden and to the East in Russia and the Baltic States as well as in the USA and China. Valio Sverige AB is particularly strong in value added products in the
Valio’s President and CEO, Pekka Laaksonen. (Photo: Valio).
lactose free and low lactose segments with a 30% market share. Valio has two production plants in Estonia, one cheese packaging facility in Belgium and a Customer Service Center including production facilities in Moscow. Valio is also positioned within global sales in food ingredients. International operations including licensing encompass 65 countries accounting for one third of the company’s total turnover.
Turnover and employees Valio Ltd. has a net turnover at 1.8 billion Euros, of which two-third stands for domestic sales and the remaining turnover from foreign subsidiaries and exports. Valio Group net turnover by product group is in average: Fresh dairy products 45%, butter and spreads 11%, cheese 32%, ingredients 5% and others (e.g. juice, frozen foods) 7%. The average number of employees in Valio Group is 4.400, of those almost 3.700 work in Finland and the remaining in Valio’s foreign subsidiaries. ■ AMT
Valio’s functional Evolus® is sold globally as a licensed technology. (Photo: Valio).
NR. 8