Big player in Scandinavia

 The foundations for the present company were laid by Peder A. Kruuse when he opened a chemist's shop in the Danish town of Odense in 1896, directly on the geographical divide between the Nordic countries and Europe. 30 years later, the entrepreneur started supplying products to veterinarians. In 1939, the founder's son Jørgen Kruuse eventually took over the veterinary division and turned it into an autonomous company. The third generation of the family in the shape of Peer Kruuse and his wife Karen took over the company in 1953 and in the years following developed it from a national dealer and manufacturer for veterinarians in Denmark into a multinational supplying pet and agricultural shops as well - to date around 5 000 customers worldwide. A subsidiary was also opened in the United Kingdom and a network of more than 500 distributors built up in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company is still wholly owned by the Kruuse family and run by CEO Jesper Smith along with Maad Kruuse, the fourth-generation scion of the family. Just three years ago, the company acquired a new production plant covering 14 400 m² in Langeskov on Fyn, close to its original location in Odense. The premises comprise roughly 12 000 m² of storage and production facilities, with approx. 50 000 tonnes of goods leaving the plant daily. Wide-ranging product spectrum "The product division for pets has grown considerably in the last few years and is now an indispensable element of Jørgen Kruuse," says Lars Lund, sales and marketing director for Scandinavia and the UK. The division is just 25 years old, for in 1985 the company became the distributor for Hill´s Pet Nutrition in Denmark. Veterinarians and pet shops throughout Scandinavia are now supplied exclusively with Hill's products. Other brands distributed by Jørgen Kruuse include Rogz, Furminator, Kong, Oster, Pet-AG, Plaque Off and United Pets. The company also produces and markets its own product lines of dog and cat accessories. 'We mix the range of our own products and the imported brands to offer our customers a complete assortment for dogs and cats," continues Lars Lund. Some of the most important products are "Buster Cube" - the company's first blockbuster in this category, "Buster Soft Cube", "Buster Treat Ball", "Buster Memory Foam Bed", "Catrine Catmosphere", and "Catrine Cat Litter". The latest innovation is "Buster Sanitary Pants", which are sanitary pants for dogs. These are innovative in their design as they are…