Swiss Dairy Food
| Swiss Dairy Food AG | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1998 |
| resolution | 2003 |
| Reason for dissolution | insolvency |
| Seat |
Ostermundigen BE Switzerland
|
Swiss Dairy Food AG ( SDF ), based in Ostermundigen in the canton of Bern, was one of the largest milk processing companies in Switzerland .
history
Development of the dairy industry
As a result of the shortage of fresh milk during the First World War , the federal government gave the regional milk associations (sections of the later Swiss milk producers ) sole supply authority. As a result, the federal government consolidated a milk cartel in Switzerland that controlled the entire market. In the interwar years, the construction of large association dairies began. After the Second World War , the pasteurization process was developed for mass production, and disposable packaging in the form of canned food or Tetra Paks became particularly popular with the urban population. The price advantage that could be achieved through the easier handling of preserved milk meant that the Migros retail group began processing milk in its subsidiary Conserves Estavayer SA (CESA) in 1960 and bypassed the dairy associations.
The milk associations reacted indignantly to the unfamiliar competition. It was not until the 1970s that they began to specialize in the production of dairy products, to build brands and to advertise them massively. The three brands “Toni”, “ Emmi ” and “Säntis” in particular established themselves , backed by one or more regional milk associations, which - contrary to the original intention - now also compete with one another through the various brands. Investments were also made in the infrastructure; During this period, for example, the large Toni dairy "Förrlibuck" was created in Zurich's industrial district and the dairy in Ostermundigen , which was later to become the headquarters of "Toni" and SDF, respectively.
Mergers to form Swiss Dairy Food
The mechanism described led to considerations as early as the 1980s as to how synergies could be used to dampen the sometimes dubious investments. The brands established themselves particularly in the region from which the milk association behind the brand originated: at Emmi the Central Switzerland Association and at Säntis the St. Gallen - Appenzell Association . Toni was able to build up the broadest market support, as practically the entire Swiss plateau was represented by the influential associations of Bern , Zurich , Basel , Vaud and Neuchâtel . Only with the first signs of a possible market opening did the associations within the milk cartel begin to merge with one another in the 1990s.
Tonilait AG was founded in Bern in mid-1992 and Toni Romandie SA in Le Mont-sur-Lausanne in April 1993 . Tonilait became Toni Holding AG in December 1995 , the individual holding companies merged in July 1997. Toni Romandie merged with Toni Basel AG , Toni Bern AG , Toni Neuchâtel SA and Toni Zürich AG and changed the name to Toni AG , new based in Ostermundigen . In March 1998 the Toni Holding headquarters also moved to Ostermundigen.
The Säntis Holding AG based in Gossau SG was founded in late 1990 and included, among other things, the Säntis Milch AG and Säntis cheese production AG , both in early 1991 with its head office in Gossau, and was founded in April 1994 Säntis milk powder AG , headquartered in Sulgen .
In 1998, it was decided to merge the two groups of companies and thus create the largest Swiss milk processor, which made it necessary for the competition commission (Weko) to review the merger . Toni AG changed its name to Swiss Dairy Food AG (SDF) in November 1998 . After the Weko's decision was published in early March 1999, the merger with Säntis Holding AG was completed in June 1999.
Insolvency
The new company proved unstable. Even before the merger, analysts criticized the insufficient share of equity. In addition, the investors, who, due to the establishment of the milk associations, came from the population and especially from the peasant class, did not approve of the name change to the English and therefore completely unrelated name. Internally, the SDF struggled with overcapacity and milk surplus, which they were obliged to purchase.
Since it was not possible to get the problems under control, the company collapsed in mid-2002 due to over-indebtedness. In September 2002, the SDF declared itself insolvent and applied for a debt restructuring moratorium, which was granted by the competent court in November for an initial period of six months, which meant that operations could be maintained while the assets were gradually liquidated. As the last regular act of SDF, the sale of cheese production to competitor Emmi, which was initially blocked by the Weko, was completed in mid-November 2002. Under the direction of the trustee, various SDF businesses were sold to Emmi and Cremo from December 2002 .
Based on estimates of the liquidation proceeds and the compilation of the claims of creditors, the debt restructuring moratorium was extended by a further six months until November 2003. With the submission of the administrator's report and the drafted debt restructuring agreement to the debt restructuring judge in October 2003, the official dissolution of the company was initiated in November.
estate
By the end of 2005, the most extensive assets of the former SDF had been liquidated. In December 2002, Emmi took over the Ostermundigen dairy. The Toni dairy, which was shut down in 2000 in favor of the production facilities in Ostermundigen and Gossau, was completely sold to Zürcher Kantonalbank after lengthy negotiations in mid-2005 for an estimated 30 million Swiss francs , which already had liens on the property.
Participations in other companies could usually be sold back to them; the participation in the ice cream label / distributor Pierrot-Lusso , for example, went entirely to Unilever .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Beat Brodbeck: Dairy. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 24, 2008 , accessed February 23, 2020 .