Investing in success

Mr Balogh, you have been CEO of Partner in Pet Food since 2009. What has changed at the company since you arrived? When I started at Partner in Pet Food (PPF), my main aim was to advance the company’s development. Above all, I wanted to drive forward PPF’s orientation towards innovation, customer service and the development of new products. A crucial element in developing the company further was also seeing through a private equity buyout of PPF by Advent International. This business stra­tegy has proved to be entirely successful for our market position. Stronger orientation towards innovation, customer service and new products always means a financial outlay. How is this being shouldered by PPF? First and foremost it was hand­ling capital in the right way that enabled us to invest further in the business and increase the production capacity, for example. This was urgently necessary, as we had to satisfy growing demand and wanted to maintain our reputation as a reliable supplier. In addition to our own capital, we are also supported by the private equity fund Advent International when it comes to necessary investment. The financial homework has been done in a bold manner, therefore. What has the company gained from this? The success of this investment can be seen above all from one fact. Four years ago, Partner in Pet Food still ranked fourth in the table of private label pet food ma­nufacturers in Europe. Today we are first in core/strategic markets. PPF is now a significant company with production plants in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It currently manufactures and distributes 450 000 t of dry and wet food products for cats and dogs in 28 countries and supplies nearly all the leading European retail firms. What do you perceive to be the particular strengths of Part­­ner in Pet Food? We are the only private label pet food manufacturer with a pan-European production network. This sets us apart from our competitors. PPF also offers a complete range of cat and dog food products in all price segments from economy to premium quality. The company is not only an important supplier in the private label sector; we also market products under our own successful brands such as “Dax”, “Brasa”, “Propesko” and “Reno”. You spoke about the development of new product ideas. What exactly are you planning in this area and how do you set about development? When we develop new products, we make extensive use of the tools of market research and…