Tönnies bundles cattle slaughtering

Legden/Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 01. März 2023 – Tönnies Rind is temporarily shutting down its smallest cattle site in Legden in the western Münsterland region. This is the division’s response to the general situation in the industry and in agriculture and the associated drop in live animal numbers.

The temporary closure will take place on March 31, 2023. Slaughtering operations will be temporarily bundled at the Cattle Competence Center in Badbergen. The company has offered all of its approximately 50 employees the opportunity to transfer to other Group sites. The long-standing supplier relationships will be continued at the nearby Badbergen and Wilhelmshaven sites. From the company’s point of view, the adjustments in Legden are unavoidable in order to respond to the changed market situation. Due to various factors, the cattle population in Germany has fallen by almost 12 percent in recent years.

Steen Sönnichsen takes over Division International

Frank Duffe: “German market requires full concentration”.

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 23. June 2022 – The Tönnies Group of Companies is dividing the management of two divisions among several shoulders: At the express request of Frank Duffe, Managing Director of the Pork, International and Ingredients divisions, the Group’s Board of Management will be expanded to include one person who will henceforth be responsible for the International division.

Frank Duffe had already suggested this expansion weeks ago in order to be able to concentrate fully on the change process in the industry and in our company. “The transformation of the entire chain is one of the greatest challenges in the company’s history and therefore requires all our concentration,” explains Frank Duffe. The company’s management then succeeded in recruiting Steen Sönnichsen, a highly accomplished industry expert, to join Tönnies.

The 54-year-old native Dane has held management positions in the industry for decades. From August 1, 2022, he will bring this know-how to our Group as Head of the International Division and continue the success story of the strongly growing division. Steen Sönnichsen will primarily be responsible for the sites in Denmark, Poland, Spain and the UK.

This relief will enable Frank Duffe to drive forward the change process in the Pork division in Germany even more intensively. The move is also a clear commitment to Germany as a business location. “Frank Duffe and I have been a team for 36 years and continue to tackle the transformation together,” says Clemens Tönnies, Managing Partner. “We agree that the generational change in the company’s management that has been initiated is also an important factor in this. We want to implement this consistently in the coming years.”

Denmark

Planned leadership change at Tican to be implemented

Tican Fresh Meat A/S is making a change at the top of the company that has been planned for some time. On April 1, 2022, Sebastian Laursen will become the new CEO of the group of companies, which has been part of the German Tönnies Holding since 2016. He succeeds Niels Jørgen Villesen, who spent 24 years in top management at the company, most recently as CEO.

For a transition period until the end of June at the latest, Laursen and Villesen will still manage the business together to ensure a smooth transition at the top of the company. During this time, Niels Jørgen Villesen will remain in charge as CEO.

Frank Duffe, Chairman of Tican Fresh Meat A/S, on the change at the top of the company: “Sebastian Laursen has held leading positions at Tönnies and Tican since 2016. He has already worked with Niels Jørgen Villesen for a number of years, giving him insight into the company and its operations. We are convinced that Sebastian, with his industry knowledge and international sales experience, will continue the company’s path to a bright future. Niels Jørgen Villesen has been instrumental in shaping Tican’s history and making it successful for almost 25 years in key positions. We are especially grateful to Niels Jørgen for still being available as CEO for the coming months, ensuring a smooth transition at the top of the company.”

Sebastian Laursen (30) began his career in 2010 as a Sales and Logistic Trainee at BPI A/S, where he was subsequently Sales Manager responsible for Hong Kong and China from 2012 to 2016.

In 2016, he joined Tönnies Nordic as Export Manager and was responsible for sales in the regions of Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore.

In his position as Export Manager at Tönnies Nordic, he was involved in the development and expansion of sales in Australia, the USA and New Zealand from both the Danish and German plants of the Tönnies Group. He also assisted in the development of Tönnies’ subsidiary in the USA.

Niels Jørgen Villesen (55) has been with Tican for 24 years, first as CFO and since 2019 as CEO. During his time as part of Tican’s top management, the company developed from a medium-sized cooperative slaughterhouse into an international group with operations in numerous countries. He oversaw the expansion of slaughtering and the acquisition of distribution and processing companies to develop markets and ensure Tican’s competitiveness.

One year after the end of the work contract regulation

Tönnies presses ahead resolutely with the process of transformation

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 06. January 2022 – Exactly one year after the end of work contracts in the meat industry, the Tönnies Group has drawn up an interim balance sheet. In the past 15 months, 8,500 employees in Germany have been taken on as direct employees. Digital time recording has been implemented at all sites and forms the basis for payroll accounting. In addition, Tönnies has taken over 2,000 apartments with 5,800 places in 800 properties throughout Germany, most of which have already been renovated and refurnished.

Thanks to the consistent implementation of the new occupational health and safety regulations and the NRW Housing Promotion Act, as well as the additional standards and specifications defined by the company, extraordinary improvements have been achieved in terms of the housing situation for employees. One third of all employees at Tönnies would like to live in housing managed by the company and its newly founded company. More than 70 percent of employees live privately. “We have achieved a lot here in the past twelve months. We’re not finished yet, but we’re on a very good path,” says Martin Bocklage, head of human resources at the Tönnies Group.

In 2021, Tönnies Immobilien Services (TIS) realized:

• In total, invested a high double-digit million amount in residential space
  2,000 apartments with 5,800 living spaces in 800 properties taken over
  Existing leases were renegotiated and standardized for the benefit of employees
• 60 percent of the apartments have already been renovated, 30 percent already met our defined standard when we took them over. 10 percent of the apartments are due for renovation in the short or medium term.
• 1.5 million euros invested in furnishing these properties alone
• 450 new kitchens worth more than 300,000 euros purchased
• Existing furniture taken over and supplemented where necessary with electrical appliances and individual new pieces of furniture
  Employees pay 210 euros in rent per person – 120 euros in cold rent and 90 euros in ancillary costs
• This includes electricity, water, energy, waste disposal and all furniture including electrical appliances such as washing machines or refrigerators, often also Internet.
• Janitor service including cleaning of common areas such as staircases and corridors, minor repairs and emergency service.
  At least one inspection of each apartment every quarter

“The accusations made by a TV magazine in December that the living situations of EU employees in particular violate legal requirements are not true. In the documented individual cases, it is mainly a matter of housing privately rented by employees or also a house that we have unrented at the beginning of the year and which the owner has already demolished months ago,” Martin Bocklage continues.

The local authorities at the Tönnies locations in Germany and in the vicinity of the main plant in Rheda-Wiedenbrück attest to the company’s consistently positive changes. In this context, the first alderman of the town of Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Dr. Georg Robra, even speaks of a “paradigm shift” since Tönnies took over housing management. This is also confirmed after regular control inspections of the residential properties, which are carried out by the responsible authorities unannounced or together with TIS and native-speaking integration staff of the group of companies.

This is stated in a report of the Social Affairs and Integration Department of the City of Rheda-Wiedenbrück dated September 16, 2021 to the Committee for Social Affairs, Migration and Sports:

The Municipal Housing Control is aware of 470 properties in which people with the background of labor migration live. Of these, 366 are privately rented, 85 are rented by Tönnies Immobilien Services, and 19 are rented by other housing providers or are being converted/renovated. Unannounced inspections of the properties take place on a regular basis. The focus of the several hundred inspections was on adequate living space, fire protection and the general condition of the apartments.

Tönnies Immobilien Services has proven to be a very reliable direct contact.
Any problems identified are dealt with and remedied quickly.
Housing conditions have improved significantly since the end of the work contracts.

With the expiry of employment opportunities via work contracts, the Tönnies Group has taken over 8,500 employees, mainly from EU member states, into direct employment relationships, who are employed in the core areas of the food company. At the same time, the company is building its own structures, above all in order to be able to recruit personnel without external advice and support. For example, the company’s own recruitment offices in Serbia, Poland and Romania are currently being set up or have already gone into operation. In Belgrade, a training program has been initiated in cooperation with a German educational institution to train young technical staff for the industry.

The international recruitment of personnel still requires the support of external service providers during the transition phase of the transformation. In addition to recruiting employees in the countries of origin, the experienced service companies are particularly active in language mediation and, together with the Tönnies integration team, in on-site integration.

In a very challenging year for everyone through Corona, the Tönnies Group is satisfied with the progress of the transformation. Martin Bocklage: “But there is no reason to slacken in these efforts. On the contrary: the path of change we have embarked on is to be consistently pursued further.”

Greenhouse gas emissions – much further than many think

Tönnies contradicts study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 16. December 2021 – The Tönnies Group disagrees with the study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis. This states that the emissions of the twenty largest European meat and dairy groups exceed the total greenhouse gas emissions of countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark. “The study is only based on estimates, but these do not correspond to the realities,” complains Dr. Gereon Schulze Althoff, Head of Quality Management and Sustainability at Tönnies.

For example, emissions at Tönnies did not increase during the period indicated, but were actually reduced as a result of economies of scale in the context of site acquisitions and mergers. For several years now, the Rheda-Wiedenbrück-based food company has been systematically publishing its sustainability work in line with the Global Reporting Initiative method. In 2020, a 10-year plan for sustainability targets was added with the Agenda t30.

Specifically, the study assumes that emissions at Tönnies alone increased by 30 percent from 2016 to 2018. However, the study authors did not scientifically prove or calculate the emissions, but estimated them based on slaughter figures. Tönnies, for example, acquired the Zur Mühlen Group with six sites in 2017 and grew dynamically throughout the period under review from 2016 to 2018. However, the growth and the acquisition of sites did not lead to an increase in emissions in total. Rather, emissions already existing under other company names were reduced.

Tönnies also sees the fundamental weakness of the methodology in this calculation. Meat companies are supply infrastructures between agriculture and consumers. Scope 3 emissions on farms occur regardless of where the animals are slaughtered and processed. However, no one could seriously consider agriculture without livestock as a goal. Without livestock, even more (petroleum-based) artificial fertilizer would have to be produced to grow crops for food, and without livestock, there is no meaningful use of byproducts of plant-based food production.

Therefore, comparing petroleum and food does not make sense. While petroleum can in principle be replaced by renewable energy, food production cannot and must be considered systemically in its overall context. “Agriculture and meat production are on their way and further along than many think,” Schulze Althoff said. Moreover, emissions in agriculture have been reduced by 20 percent in Germany since 1990, while production volumes have increased.

Continuation of the sustainability strategy

Tönnies farmers: abandonment of rainforest soy by the end of 2022

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 05. November 2021 – Food producer Tönnies is taking the next step in its sustainability strategy: From the end of 2022, food producer Tönnies will rely on the use of exclusively sustainable protein feeds when feeding pigs in Germany. “The complete renunciation of soy from rainforest areas and valuable savannahs in South America is one of our contributions to saving important, ecological resources for the world and the climate,” explains Clemens Tönnies, CEO.

“With a comprehensive package of measures and the use of predominantly native protein crops in animal feed, we are making our contribution to further advancing the sustainability of our food production.” With this step, Tönnies is continuing its development in this area, which began in 2017 with the “Toniso” feeding concept. As a result, the use of soy in feeding has been reduced by 25 percent over the past four years.

In cooperation with leading feed manufacturers, the Rheda-Wiedenbrück-based family business is now working on alternative solutions to use only sustainable soy for feeding in the future and to strengthen the use of domestic protein crops. From the end of 2022, Tönnies will then no longer accept pigs from Germany that have been fed soy from rainforest areas. “The switch to sustainable protein feeds is imperative. Constructive discussions with the feed industry have reinforced our approach that the switch to rainforest-free soy is possible,” adds Dr. Wilhelm Jaeger, head of Tönnies’ agricultural department.

The additional costs that may arise in the process are to be generated for the farmers through the sale of the meat products. “It is essential that we involve our agricultural producers in this next step of our sustainability strategy in order to drive the necessary transformation,” emphasizes Clemens Tönnies.

The renunciation of rainforest soy is another building block in the company’s T30 sustainability strategy. Tönnies’ benchmark is to produce food sustainably. “To do this, we close loops and work in a way that conserves resources,” says the company CEO.

Background:

Growing soy in a diverse crop rotation is fundamentally positive. As a legume, the plant is able to enrich the soil’s nitrogen balance and soil life. Soybean cultivation is unacceptable if it destroys rainforests and grasslands and creates large monocultures. Since 1960, the global area under soybean cultivation has quadrupled to 100 million hectares worldwide, with dramatic negative consequences for people and the environment. By virtue of its market position, Tönnies sees itself as having a responsibility to point out and itself pursue paths to sustainability.

Pilot projekt

Tevex Logistics deploys first near-production e-truck from Daimler in Germany

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 04. October 2021 – Tevex Logistics in Rheda-Wiedenbrück has a sustainable addition to its fleet: The logistics subsidiary of the Tönnies Group has its first e-truck in operation. The vehicle is a near-series vehicle in the trial phase. Tevex Logistics is the only one of a total of four project partners of the manufacturer Daimler with a refrigerated truck. The resulting CO2 reductions pay into the Group’s t30 sustainability strategy.

Visually, the eActros 300, the official name of the electric truck, is hardly distinguishable from conventional vehicles. But one thing is immediately noticeable: the noise level, or rather the lack of it. The 27-ton electric-based truck is extremely quiet, with no typical engine or cooling unit noises to be heard – not even in the driver’s cab, by the way. “That’s quite a sensation,” enthuses Clemens Tönnies, CEO.

On the way to series production, Tevex Logistics is closely accompanying Daimler Truck AG’s development of the eActros. “We test the trial vehicles in real day-to-day operations. All the data that is collected flows into the finalization towards a series vehicle,” explains Dirk Mutlak, Managing Director of Tevex Logistics. The tests by the Rheda-Wiedenbrück-based expert for ultra-fresh logistics are initially planned to run until next year. “Depending on how things go, however, a joint extension of the project is also possible.”

At Tevex Logistics in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, the new eActros is to be used in multi-shift operation. “We want to use it to deliver our own high-quality food products such as schnitzel specialties, bratwurst and the various customers in the extended local transport area on a daily basis,” says Dirk Mutlak. In total, the company expects to cover up to 600 kilometers per day. The e-truck is charged at the charging station on the company’s premises. “The infrastructure for this was created some time ago.” For the charging time from 20 to 80 percent, the manufacturer calculates just one hour.

By using the new electric-based truck, CO2 emissions are minimized to zero. “We want to produce sustainable food. Therefore, we are successively reducing all influences in the chain that we have an influence on or can influence. Logistics is one of them. The future belongs to climate-neutral drives,” clarifies Clemens Tönnies. “We are also intensively discussing the conversion of our company car fleet to alternative drives where possible.” In the short term, electricity for this is to be generated using photovoltaic systems on the company premises.

The new e-truck is a Mercedes three-axle chassis with a double-decker refrigerated body and an all-electric refrigeration unit. The technological heart of the truck is the drive unit, an electric rigid axle with two integrated electric motors and two-speed transmission. All assistance systems, such as turning, braking and lane-keeping assistants, are also installed, analogous to the Actros 5, which is increasingly being used by Tevex Logistics.

Trainees can deepen knowledge practically

Tönnies opens State-of-the-art training workshop

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 8. September 2021 – The time has finally come: The Tönnies Group’s new in-house and state-of-the-art training workshop has been completed. On an area of around 250 square meters, the technical trainees will be able to improve their mechanical and electronic knowledge even more in the future. They will be supported by their trainers. Clemens Tönnies, shareholder of the Tönnies Group, and his wife Margit also attended the official opening of the new premises at the Rheda site.

For the company’s own training workshop, several rooms on the company premises have been completely renovated, refurbished and modernized in recent months.  Tönnies is thus no longer dependent on an external training workshop. “The apprentices are now much closer to the action. They don’t just learn theory from a distance, but are now right in the middle of it,” says Jan Fuhrmann, training manager for the technical professions. Together with his colleagues, he has driven forward the planning and implementation of the new training workshop. In the future, the Tönnies trainees will be able to work practically here and consolidate their skills in welding, turning, milling, and other areas. For theory, there is an additional training room with computers and a smartboard. The trainers’ master office is also located in the training workshop. As a result, the apprentices and trainers work closely together and can provide feedback quickly.

“We are not just training new skilled workers here, but personalities,” says Clemens Tönnies at the opening. Promoting young talent and training is particularly important to the family-owned company. That’s why Tönnies is providing new incentives for apprentices with the state-of-the-art training workshop. The family-owned company is currently training 25 apprentices from four apprenticeship years and three different occupational fields in the technical area.

The prospective specialists as electronics technicians, mechatronics technicians and industrial mechanics take care of the maintenance, servicing or troubleshooting of machines, conveyor belts and cooling systems during ongoing operations. However, creative solutions are also required time and again. The Tönnies trainees are directly involved in the practical work. “Here, no one has to stand by and watch for weeks, but is allowed to lend a hand right away. And honestly, they often have great ideas that we old hands wouldn’t have thought of,” says Jan Fuhrmann.

Planned handover to next CFO

New CFO: Daniel Nottbrock hands over to Carl Bürger

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 31. August 2021 – At the end of the year, an era will come to an end at the Tönnies Group: Daniel Nottbrock (45) will hand over the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) after more than 20 years. As agreed several years ago, his previous deputy Carl Bürger (34) will take over the position on the Board of Management. Nottbrock intends to focus on his role as Managing Director of Asset Immobilien GmbH from January 1, 2022. However, he will remain on the advisory board of the Tönnies Group with his many years of experience and expertise.

“We envisaged this handover several years ago and agreed it with the shareholders. Asset Immobilien GmbH has become so extensive and diverse that I already have enough to do with it,” says Daniel Nottbrock. “With Carl Bürger, I am also now handing over the financial management of the holding company to younger hands.” The 34-year-old had already successively taken over the Group’s operational finance business over the past three years. “There was a smooth and noiseless transition here, which only needs to be formally implemented on January 1,” adds Nottbrock. Carl Bürger played a major role in the successful takeover of, among others, the Danish Tican Group in 2015 and, most recently, the sausage manufacturer Schwarz Cranz last year.

“I am deeply grateful to Daniel Nottbrock. He has actively helped shape our company since 1999 and put it on an excellent financial footing. Without him, Tönnies would not be nearly as well on track today,” says Clemens Tönnies, Managing Partner. “I am therefore pleased that he will remain with us as a member of the Advisory Board with his deep expertise.” The shareholders welcome the future structure. “We would like to thank Daniel Nottbrock for the work he has done. We now want to continue this with Carl Bürger,” underlines Robert Tönnies.

Carl Bürger is a Tönnies homegrown. The 34-year-old joined the Group 16 years ago. He knew Tönnies from his grandfather, who was the administrative manager at the Weißenfels site. After an internship and a vacation job, he completed the practical part of his business studies at Tönnies in Rheda. He was thus the first dual student at the food producer. At the age of 21, he took over as head of accounting, shortly followed by accounting control, before being appointed deputy to Daniel Nottbrock. Now Carl Bürger succeeds his boss.