Dewulf and Miedema move forward together as a new full liner

The big news at PotatoEurope 2014 in the German village of Bockenrode – some even spoke about it as earth-shaking – was without any doubt the takeover of the Dutch company Miedema in Winsum by the Belgian family business Dewulf in Roeselare. This combination has resulted in a big full-liner company in the mechanisation of potatoes, onions and carrots. Number two now in the world ranking list thanks to a joint turnover of 70 million euros. With a total turnover of over 280 million euros in 2011, only Grimme is bigger but that amount also includes the technology around the cultivation of sugar beet. As Dewulf, with 45 million euros, brings in the highest turnover and didn’t have any limited shareholders, it’s logical according to Sales and Marketing Director Karel Decramer that with 72 percent, the Belgians are now the biggest shareholder of Miedema. ‘In order to act decisively, we’ve purposely not gone for a fifty-fifty partnership’, says Decramer. The remaining 28 percent of the Miedema shares will stay with the present Miedema management: Guido Mangnus and René Boeijenga. In Germany, Decramer and Mangnus were explaining the future plans of the new company.