Danish Crown launches NIB-financed slaughterhouse

New slaughterhouse in Holsted. Photo: Danish Crown A/S

On 22 August, Denmark’s food processing company Danish Crown A/S inaugurated a new cattle slaughterhouse in Holsted, southern Jutland. The construction has been co-financed with a long-term loan from NIB.

The new facility will use the best available techniques as defined for the sector, which will help it reduce the consumption of energy and water by a third compared to older slaughterhouses the Holsted plant is replacing. The slaughterhouse in Holsted will be among the three largest in Europe. It will handle roughly half of the national cattle slaughtering.

Danish Crown is the world’s second largest abattoir and Europe’s largest meat processing company. The company is a cooperative owned by around 9,000 Danish pig and beef farmers.

The 10-year maturity loan from NIB to Danish Crown, totalling DKK 340 million (EUR 46 million), was agreed in December 2013.