LFD Holding
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| Industry | Pig farming |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Straathof Holding GmbH |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Adrianus Straathof |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Europe |
Key people | René Drews (CEO)[1] |
| Products | Piglets |
| Revenue | €106.873 million[1] (2020) |
| Owner | Terra Grundwerte AG |
Number of employees | 405[1] (2020) |
| Website | lfd-holding |
The LFD Holding is a German piglet production concern based in Genthin in Saxony-Anhalt. It is Germany's largest piglet producer and market leader.[1][2]
The company was founded in 2004 by Dutchman Adrianus Straathof as Straathof Holding GmbH. In 2014, it was renamed LFD Holding GmbH (LFD standing for Landwirtschaftliche Ferkelzucht Deutschland).[3] In 2020, the company was sold to the Swiss-based investment and holding company Terra Grundwerte AG.[1][4]
The company has been repeatedly criticized for animal cruelty. In 2021, a major fire completely destroyed the piglet production plant in Alt Tellin.
Adrianus Straathof began raising pigs in the Netherlands in 1973.[5] In 2001, Dutch authorities took legal and police action against the farm due to animal cruelty and overcrowding in the stables.[6] After that, Adrianus Straathof expanded to eastern Germany.[7] At the end of 2004, Adrianus Straathof founded Straathof Holding GmbH based in Gladau as an umbrella organization for his various plants in Germany.[8] The Straathof Holding GmbH also opened plants in Hungary.[9]
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The company became a pioneer of large-scale animal husbandry in Germany[10] and one of the largest piglet producers in Europe.[11] In doing so, the company repeatedly violated legal requirements and was legally convicted. At the Gladau plant alone, authorities imposed fines amounting to €2.1 million from 2005 to 2014.[12] Subsequently, the company was subjected to protests from local residents, environmentalists as well as animal rights activists.[2]
After the investigative TV magazine Report Mainz reported on animal cruelty in December 2013 with video recordings by the animal rights organization Animal Rights Watch,[13] a three-day raid by police and the public prosecutor's office took place at the Gladau site in 2014.[14] As a result, in November 2014, the responsible district of Jerichower Land issued a nationwide ban on pig keeping and care against Adrianus Straathof, which was unique on this scale in Germany.[15]
After that, the concern was renamed LFD Holding GmbH on December 22, 2014.[3] Adrianus Straathof initially handed over the management to an employee. Finally, on June 4, 2015, Adrianus Straathof announced that Christian Graf Brockdorff and the law firm Schultze & Braun would act as trustees of his ownership.[16] At the same time, an advisory board was established, of which Adrianus Straathof became a member.[17]
On March 18, 2020, Adrianus Straathof sold the concern to the investor Terra Grundwerte AG, based in Switzerland and owned by Schleuniger founder Thomas-Andreas Martin Strehl.[18][19] Terra Grundwerte AG in turn appointed the Lindhorst Group based in Winsen an der Aller for the operational management.[20] In fiscal year 2020, revenue amounted to €106.873 million, of which roughly 94% (€100.543 million) were generated in Germany and 6% (€6.33 million) in other European countries.[1]
A major fire on March 31, 2021, completely destroyed the piglet production plant in Alt Tellin, resulting in losses of around 20% in the concern's piglet production capacity.[1] The public prosecutor's office estimated the damage at around €40 million.[21]
Structure
The concern keeps sows and produces piglets. The operation of the individual plants is carried out through 14 subsidiaries.[1] The animal stock in the parent farms is 55,000 sows,[4] with which 4000 piglets are produced per day.[22] The piglets are sold to fattening companies in Germany and Europe, some are fattened in the concern's own fattening plants.[1]
For the trade and transport of the animals, the concern cooperates with the Venneker group.[23] With regard to the genetics of the animals, the concern cooperates with the pig breeding company Hypor, a subsidiary of one of the world's largest animal genetics groups Hendrix Genetics.[24]
