028 Kennedy’s Confection July 2011 COVER STORY: PALSGAARD By Angus Kennedy Leading with the heart Angus Kennedy visits Danish Palsgaard, the world-renowned emulsifier company with a strong emphasis on responsibility – for the environment, technical competence and the wellbeing of its employees. “Palsgaard has a unique warm hearted culture which originates from our founders. This spirit is the way we work today with all our business relations - hard and with our hearts in the right place.” This is how Jakob Thøisen, sales and marketing director at Palsgaard, explains the philosophy of the company when he greets Kennedy’s at the Palsgaard manor in the south east of the Jutland peninsula. He explains how Einar Viggo Schou, who established the Palsgaard factory, could express his fundamental values in just three words – loyalty, diligence and persistence. “These values still form the core of our company; we just express them slightly different as loyalty, responsibility and commitment.” When Schou took over the estate in 1908, he laid the cornerstone for Palsgaard, which became the first company in the world to specialise in the manufacture and development of emulsifiers for the food industry. The Palsgaard factory and headquarters are today situated on the estate, with further manufacturing plants in Mexico, China and the Netherlands and test centres in Denmark, Singapore, China and Mexico. Plans are now in place to build a new plant in Malaysia, which will become Palsgaard’s 12th operation abroad. The long-term view The company specializes in the manufacture and supply of emulsifiers and stabilizer blends for the bakery, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, margarine, and fine food industries and uses its historic knowledge to work intensively with its customers on product developments. In 1957, the ownership of the Palsgaard companies was restructured from private limited companies to foundation ownership. Instead of a focus on fast returns, the Schou Foundation concentrates on the long-term view - helping advance its customers’ businesses through research and development while considering the wellbeing of its staff and the environment. Palsgaard has a strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. It just released its first CSR report pledging their commitment to be CO2 neutral by 2020. However, as Jakob Thøisen
Download PDF fil