HUNLAND
I
PROFILE
TAKING STOCK AND
MOO-VING FORWARD We can doubtless all agree that some of the best things in life come about as combinations of other things. Peanut butter and jam (or jelly, for our American readers), macaroni and cheese, hotdogs and ketchup, ice cream and chocolate sauce. And today, we can add Hunland to that list. Combining the best of Hungary and Holland, the company has produced a winning business recipe. Hunland’s management team spoke to Richard Hagan about the company’s philosophies for success.
H
unland Group, based in Hungary, is a modern, ethical facilitator, producer and trader of various livestock categories across Europe and the world. The name Hunland combines the first three letters of Hungary, and the last four of Holland, to reflect the birthplace of the company’s founder, Jos Janssen and the location of the business’ headquarters in Bugyi, Pest County, Hungary. Mr. Janssen comes from a traditional Dutch cattle trader family and when he first visited Hungary in 1992, he found Hungarian people’s mentality and commitment to work inspiring and decided to establish his family business there and settle down. During the past 30 years, Hunland became a group of companies operating worldwide. The company’s activities are divided into three main categories: production of livestock (including farming and dairy production), trading of livestock and meat (both its own as well as connecting external farmers to buyers), and livestock transport services across Europe and globally. The company employs around 670 staff spread across its various facilities. Looking first at the production side, 146
Inside Food & Drink
its several livestock farms spread across Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Greece, have a combined stock capacity of 30,000 animals. Adding the production of these farms to the combined production of its supply partner farmers, the company’s annual exports include 50,000 breeding cattle, 350,000 cattle for meat purposes, 200,000 sheep and 1.2 million pigs and piglets. Additionally, the company owns two dairy farms with an impressive daily output of 120 tonnes, and it has its own fodder production facility with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes. Moving on to the company’s transportation division, the company operates over 140 trucks. This is a remarkable number considering that this division has only been operational since 2006. Within the fleet, the majority of the vehicles are livestock trucks, with 70 designed to carry cattle, piglets and slaughter pigs. 30 trucks are refrigerator trucks for transportation of fresh meat and medication, and 35 are bulk carriers for shipping goods out of the company’s food production factory.