News

160 exhibitors at PATS Harrogate A total of 160 exhibitors will be showcasing their products at the two-day PATS show in Harrogate. The show promises to be the biggest and best in the show’s five-year history. As the organiser points out, an increasing number of international companies are using PATS Harrogate to tempt UK pet retailers to stock their products. So far, ten companies from Ireland, continental Europe and America have booked to exhibit at the Harrogate show, which takes place on 15 and 16 September. New proprietors at Vitakraft Subject to final checks, the Wührmann family has sold the Vitakraft-Werke in Bremen to two new proprietors. According to unconfirmed information obtained by the trade magazine PET worldwide, the two new shareholders are a private investor, who does not wish to be named, and the pet food manufacturer Deuerer. The Wührmann family will retain a minority shareholding in the company. Based in Bretten, close to Karlsruhe (south-west Germany), the pet food manufacturer Deuerer has expanded rapidly in the pet food sector with private label products in the last few years. Its annual sales are in the order of around € 250 mio, and are thus roughly on a par with Vitakraft’s latest figures. PPF acquires pet food division of Agro-Trust Partner in Pet Food (PPF), one of Europe’s leading private label pet food producers, has acquired the pet food division of Agro-Trust, a Hungarian family-owned agricultural and pet food company. According to PPF, Agro-Trust has invested in the technology and capabilities required to produce a range of high-quality alucap products, pet food sausages and speciality dried and smoked products over the years. “The incorporation of Agro-Trust’s alucap range will mean that PPF will be able to offer a full range of products across all the major pet food formats to suit all consumer and retailer needs. It will also expand the company’s offering in the premium and super-premium market segments,” points out PPF in a press release. Nestlé Purina expands to Poland Nestlé Purina Petcare has announced plans to build a new factory and distribution centre in Poland. The factory, an investment of CHF 93 mio., will be constructed near the city of Wroclaw, in Poland’s south-west, becoming the tenth Nestlé factory in the country and creating 200 jobs. Work will begin on the building towards the end of 2013 with the goal that the factory will be fully operational during the second half of 2014. “We are very pleased to…