De Heus buys grain silo and compound feed factory in Slovakia

The deal, it said, strengthens its ability to provide high quality feed to customers in Central Europe.

De Heus said the acquisition follows on from the expansion of capacity at its feed facility in Běstovice in the Czech Republic in 2015, and underlines its strategy to base its production locations as close as possible to livestock farmers.

However, it needs to modernize the acquired factory. “It will be totally rebuilt.” ​

The Dutch company expects that revamp to be finalized in mid-2019. From that date, the Kendice plant will go live.

A spokesperson told us capacity of the mill, post modernization, will be around 150,000 tons per year.

The existing grain silos at the Kendice complex will be used to store grain harvested from July 2018 onwards. That grain will then be used as an ingredient for the animal feed produced at existing locations in the Czech Republic, said the Dutch group.

Along with its feed factory in Běstovice, De Heus owns a feed manufacturing facility in Marefy in the Czech Republic; that plant has an output of 150,000 tons per year. The feed produced at the two factories is targeted at livestock producers in both the Czech and Slovak markets.

Spanish foothold​

Last week, we reported that the Dutch group had signed off on an agreement for the acquisition of the Spanish feed company, Piensos Unzué.

That manufacturer, based in Navarra, produces around 200,000 tons of feed per year, and has a strong position in the ruminant feed market in the northeast of the country.

The Dutch feed manufacturer now has an extensive network of feed production facilities in Spain. It has previously outlined its ambition to become a dominant feed player on the Iberian Peninsula.

"Our total capacity in Spain now is more than one million tons,"​ said the spokesperson for De Heus.