A consequence of this strategic decision is that the Danish production subsidiary (Bernard Krone A/S) has been offered for sale. The purchase agreement with the new owners (GORICA Industries, Dubai and Inner Circle, Viborg, Denmark) was signed in late September. The former Norfrig plant in Hvam will therefore belong to Inner Circle as of January 1, 2014. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.
“We only made this decision with heavy hearts,” said Bernard Krone. “Both my father and I have been heavily involved in Hvam in the past; after all, it was GRP boxes that opened up the refrigerated trailer market for us. So we mulled the matter over for a long time before deciding to take this step. We told the employees about this in person and are sure that it wasn’t a complete surprise for them because of the order situation. We have also paid severance that is significantly above the statutory and collective agreement requirements.”
Krone took over the production site in Hvam from Norfrig A/S 13 years ago; at that time, up to 2,700 refrigerated GFK series vehicles were produced each year. It manufactured around 730 GRP units over the past financial year. In total, Krone produced more than 27,300 rolling units over the past financial year and recorded revenue of around 930 million euros.
The new owner of the production facilities plans to move the plant to Dubai; some former Krone employees have been offered jobs accordingly. Refrigerated box bodies are to be produced to the Krone GRP standard in Dubai beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014. A new production site will be created in Dubai for this purpose. Krone and GORICA are working toward cooperation with the Krone plant in Tire, Turkey, for the delivery of vehicle chassis.
