West meat
The Westfleisch SCE Limited liability is the cooperative organized parent company of a northwest German group of companies in the meat industry, based in Münster . She works closely with Westfleisch Finanz AG . Westfleisch is the third largest meat processing company in Germany.
Company history
Westfleisch was founded on October 28, 1928 as Westfälische Provinzial-Viehverwertungsgenossenschaft WPVG to organize the meat sales of farmers on the Rhine and Ruhr. Members were mainly local livestock processing cooperatives. Until the 1960s, live marketing dominated the business in more than 30 outlets and sales outlets. In 1962 the WPVG opened the first slaughterhouse in Lübbecke. Since then, the economic activity has shifted more and more from the trade organization to the slaughter and marketing of processed meat products. The group has had its current name Westfleisch in its company logo since 1965. The official name in 1965 was VFZ Vieh- und Fleischzentrale Westfalen eGmbH .
In the 1960s, many municipal slaughterhouses closed while the cooperative slaughterhouse's sales increased. In 1969, sales reached the € 300 million mark for the first time. Since the founding of the financing company in 1971, the newly built slaughterhouses in Coesfeld , 1978 Paderborn and 1980 Hamm . With the new construction of the slaughterhouses, the regional livestock headquarters became a meat marketer integrated across all production stages, which was renamed "Westfleisch eG" in 2003. Live cattle are still being traded in the livestock center in Münster-Nienberge and in the piglet departments of the locations. This also means that the cooperative remains rural: Farmers still sit on the board of directors and the supervisory board. These also determine the membership structure. In 1994 the cooperative opened to individual members and thus enlarged the capital base. Since then, the number of members has increased from around 100 to over 4,000 members. From 2001 to 2007 Westfleisch also marketed white meat (poultry meat). The planned merger with Nordfleisch finally fails in 2002.
In 2015 Westfleisch took over the insolvent beef division of the Lower Saxon processor Gausepohl .
After more than 85 years, Westfleisch changed its legal form in 2015. At the 2015 General Assembly, a majority of 96.8 percent of the members voted to convert the “registered cooperative” (eG) into a European “Societas Cooperativa Europaea” (SCE).
The reason for the new legal form: Westfleisch has also been involved outside of Germany for years, the meat marketing environment is becoming increasingly international. Working with European trading partners is much easier with this identity and offers the cooperative not only better competitive opportunities, but also an international corporate culture and broader financing options.
Economic data
In 2017, Westfleisch SCE increased group sales by 11.4 percent compared to the previous year to around 2.75 billion euros. The group employed around 3400 people at the end of 2017. Total meat sales rose by 2.7 percent to 979,700 tons. The cooperative slaughtered 8.26 million pigs, including sows, 2.7 percent more than in 2016. The slaughter of large cattle rose by 1.5 percent to 424,000 animals. In meat processing in the convenience and self-service fresh meat sector by the processing companies WestfalenLand and Gustoland, Westfleisch SCE achieved an increase of 18 percent. The export share was 44 percent in 2017. Exports to internal EU countries rose by 10.5 percent. Exports to third countries, especially China, fell by 4.8 percent.
Locations
- Meat Center Hamm
- Meat Center Coesfeld
- Meat Center Lübbecke
- Meat center Oer-Erkenschwick
- Cattle logistics center Paderborn
- Livestock center Münster-Nienberge
- Meat center Dissen
- Bakum meat center
- Meat Center Gelsenkirchen
The Paderborn meat center was operated until 2016. The warehouse and production areas were largely destroyed by fire on February 8, 2016. In September 2017, Westfleisch decided not to rebuild the slaughterhouse. The reason is that the takeover of the slaughterhouse in Gelsenkirchen and extensions at other locations made it possible to maintain the figures. The sow cutting in Schöppingen on a piece of land rented by the Tummel butchery was relocated to Dissen in 2016, where it is operated as a 50/50 joint venture with Danish Crown called WestCrown . In mid-2016, Westfleisch took over the Gelsenkirchen slaughterhouse with a capacity of 30,000 pig slaughtering per week; Westfleisch had already had it slaughtered here since the fire-related production downtime in Paderborn.
Participations (selection)
- WestfalenLand Fleischwaren GmbH
- Westfleisch Finanz AG
- West Meat Byproducts
- Wetralog Food Logistics
- Fleischhandel EG butchering company Bruns
- Coldstore Hamm GmbH
- WestPet Janke GmbH
- Gustoland GmbH (formerly Bernhard Barfuss GmbH & Co. KG)
- WestCrown GmbH
- Westfleisch Erkenschwick GmbH
Westfleisch in the criticism
2005 Nationwide sensation was caused by the concern expressed by the Bielefeld public prosecutor charges of illegal temporary workers from sub-contractors and sub-sub-contractor of the group Westfleisch and against some senior executives of Westfleisch.
The Bielefeld public prosecutor's office suspected tax evasion in the millions, fraud and the formation of a criminal organization . Public Prosecutor Falk Schnabel from the Bielefeld Public Prosecutor's Office called the investigation status “a hodgepodge of circumstantial evidence” and emphasized the cooperation of Westfleisch: “The company voluntarily handed over documents.” He also points out that not the entire company, but only parts of the investigation are concerned. Polish and Romanian workers are said to have been employed by subcontractors with falsified health certificates. The hourly wages for Eastern European employees of these subcontractors were allegedly sometimes less than three to six euros. In the trial against subcontractor Alex H., when the verdict was pronounced in December 2010, the public prosecutor emphasized that Westfleisch eG had no knowledge of the entrepreneur's machinations.
Report Mainz saw an interconnection with Romanian front companies owned by the brother of the Romanian labor minister Marian Sirbu, who was in office in 1997 . The bogus and letterbox companies in Eastern European countries are said to have served to recruit cheap workers. In 2006 the investigations against Westfleisch managers were stopped by the Bielefeld public prosecutor's office against monetary requirements totaling € 100,000 due to insignificance. Social security contributions of 2.4 million euros were paid in arrears. A subcontractor was convicted.
Personnel costs were reduced by 4.75 percent in 2006 from 82.9 million euros to 79 million euros. Westfleisch eG has contractually obligated its subcontractors since 2007 to adhere to the collective agreements of the food-pleasure-restaurants union and to pay a minimum wage of 7.50 euros / hour to pay. This measure is part of a 12-point program of the corporate mission statement "Quality Partner Westfleisch" from 2007. The goals mentioned there for quality controls, freshness guarantees, sustainability and animal welfare are audited once a year by the independent certification company SGS Germany GmbH .
working conditions
According to Telepolis' allegations, subcontractors of the Westfleisch company allegedly required their employees to work twelve-hour shifts six days a week in 2005. In the investigation proceedings 293 Js 170/03 of the Bochum tax investigation , a sub-sub-contractor who worked as a column leader at a Westfleisch slaughterhouse was fined because large sums of money were moved on the account of the unemployment benefit recipient, which is why the bank suspected it Reported money laundering to the authorities. The foreman had for 25 euros per hour at the slaughterhouse black worked . Because it was stated on record in these proceedings that more than 1,000 people were employed in a similar manner at slaughterhouses of the Westfleisch group of companies, further proceedings have been initiated since 2002.
In May 2020 there was a massive outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 among the employees of the large slaughterhouse in Coesfeld. As of May 10, 230 of the approximately 1200 employees had tested positive, including many of the workers from Bulgaria and Romania living in shared accommodation. The slaughterhouse and cutting plant was temporarily closed, against which an urgent application was made. The application was rejected on May 10 by the Münster Administrative Court. In a sister company in Oer-Erkenschwick , 32 employees were infected, others in the Hamm-Uentrop plant .
Use of low wages
By using workers from Southeastern European countries, Westfleisch reduces wage costs. At the Oer-Erkenschwick site, for example, 1350 of the 1850 employees are contract workers (as of May 2020), most of them from Romania, Hungary and Latvia .
Subcontracting Social Security Fraud
Several subcontractors of Westfleisch are accused of social security fraud in the millions. The head of a temporary employment agency was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. According to information from Westdeutscher Rundfunk, the public prosecutor emphasized when pronouncing the verdict that Westfleisch had no knowledge of the machinations. The damage caused by undeclared work amounts to around € 14 million. According to information from the Oldenburgische Volkszeitung, Romanian columns of workers belonging to the convicted boss of the temporary employment agency are still in action.
Improper animal husbandry - cruelty to animals
In August 2017, the association tierretter.de documented glaring violations in animal husbandry through investigative research in pig fattening farms . In all of the Westfleisch supplier companies examined , there were postural conditions that would constitute a criminal offense . This became public in October 2017 through reports from WDR and ARD on the documentation of the animal protection association tierretter.de.
Strive for sustainability
In 2010 Westfleisch stated that it was the first German meat marketer to publish a sustainability report based on the Global Reporting Initiative criteria. His topics included environmental protection, animal welfare and animal welfare, quality controls and freshness guarantee, social responsibility, minimum wages and employee participation. At the beginning of 2010, Westfleisch calculated a CO2 balance for pork production for the first time . From the piglet rearing to the meat counter, 3.2 kilograms of CO 2 were emitted per kilogram of pork produced.
literature
- Adrian Peter: The meat mafia. Criminal business with meat and people , with a foreword by Renate Künast , Econ, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-430-30013-1 , in it p. 97: System Westfleisch . The author Adrian Peter is ARD editor and deputy editor-in-chief of Report Mainz , the weekly newspaper Die Zeit published a book review .
Broadcast reports
- Michael Nieberg : The man for all cases - A subcontractor from the meat industry unpacks , WDR January 31, 2018
Individual evidence
- ↑ Annual Report 2009 of Westfleisch Finanz AG (PDF; 2.9 MB)
- ↑ Structure of the Westfleisch group (PDF; 6.9 MB), extract from the Westfleisch eG 2009 annual report
- ↑ www.proplanta.de: Germany's largest slaughterhouse . In: proplanta.de . April 17, 2018 ( proplanta.de [accessed May 17, 2018]).
- ↑ Westfleisch company chronicle
- ↑ a b "Annual Report of Westfleisch eG 2009" (PDF; 6.9 MB)
- ↑ http://westfleisch.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/02022015-westfleisch-uebernnahm-rindfleischsparte-von-gausepohl.html
- ↑ Annual Report 2015. In: Annual Report 2015. Westfleisch, 2015, accessed on April 18, 2017 .
- ↑ Westfleisch achieves record sales . April 13, 2018 ( agrarheute.com [accessed May 17, 2018]).
- ↑ Major fire destroys large parts of the production in Paderborn - two injured , In: Westfalen-Blatt , February 8, 2016.
- ↑ nw.de of September 13, 2017: Westfleisch will not be rebuilt in Paderborn , accessed on October 3, 2017
- ↑ 'Westcrown' approved: Danish Crown and Westfleisch are allowed to cooperate , agrarheute.com, 4th December 2015
- ↑ Westfleisch takes over the slaughterhouse in Gelsenkirchen - DIE WELT mobil, July 11, 2016
- ↑ a b "How a company employs hundreds of illegal workers" ( memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Helmut Lorscheid , Linkszeitung, August 28, 2005
- ↑ a b “Dirty business in slaughterhouses? Damage should run into the millions ” ( Memento from December 2, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), WDR, November 15, 2005
- ^ A b "Cheap wages in the slaughterhouse" , Helmut Lorscheid, Heise , March 11, 2005
- ↑ SWR report, original sound
- ↑ a b "Tatort Schlachthaus - Why Thousands of German Workers Are Fired" , Fritz Frey and Adrian Peter, Report Mainz , February 28, 2005
- ^ Adrian Peter: The meat mafia. Criminal business with meat and people , Econ-Verlag and Ullstein-Verlag, Berlin, October 2006, ISBN 978-3-430-30013-1 , p. 99 f.
- ^ Agricultural weekly newspaper Westphalia Lippe: "Schlachter-Prozess", page 11, edition 50/2010 of December 16, 2010.
- ^ A b Adrian Peter: The meat mafia. Criminal business with meat and people , Econ-Verlag and Ullstein-Verlag, Berlin, October 2006, ISBN 978-3-430-30013-1 , p. 103
- ^ "Illegal workers: Westfleisch bosses have to pay" ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , WDR, August 10, 2006
- ↑ "Undeclared work at Westfleisch" ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Westfalen-Blatt, Gerhard Hülsegge, undated
- ↑ Annual result in InfofürLandwirte 1 from 2007, p. 2 ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ "Politicians' praise for Westfleisch" , Neue Westfälische, May 20, 2008
- ^ Building blocks of the Westfleisch quality partnership
- ↑ a b Number of infected people in Westfleisch-Fabrik rises to 230. FAZ , May 10, 2020, accessed on May 10, 2020 .
- ↑ 129 Corona cases: Westfleisch in Coesfeld continues on wdr.de, May 7, 2020.
- ↑ Die Glocke, February 21, 2014: Hamm wants to tear down problem houses quickly
- ↑ Thomas Fiekens: Without Eastern Europeans, not a kilo of meat for 4.19 euros. The corona virus is spreading among slaughterhouse contract workers - the companies are now catching up with their shabby living conditions. In: Stimberg Zeitung , May 9, 2020, p. 15.
- ↑ Münsterische Zeitung, March 23, 2010: Social Security Fraud. Westfleisch subcontractors in custody
- ↑ a b Agricultural weekly paper: verdict in the slaughterhouse process ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Oldenburger Volkszeitung , December 8, 2010: Axel H.'s columns are still in use
- ↑ Die Glocke, local news from Gütersloh and Warendorf, January 24, 2014: Whirlwind about the accommodation of Romanians
- ↑ "WESTFLEISCH - Direkt von Tierquälern" - Behind the stable walls of the supplier companies . In: tierretter.de eV ( tierretter.de [accessed October 19, 2017]).
- ↑ WDR television: Video "" Tierretter.de "criticizes pig farming again" - local time Münsterland. (No longer available online.) October 17, 2017, archived from the original on October 19, 2017 ; Retrieved October 19, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Sustainability Report 2009
- ↑ "Westfleisch calculates CO2 footprint for pork production for the first time" ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
