Press release -
Ronald Kers new CEO of the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller
Ronald Kers (44), currently CEO of the Müller UK & Ireland Group, will take over the overall responsibility for the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller as CEO in 2015.
"I am very pleased that we can recognise and promote talent from within the organisation to this position at the top of the management board. We followed the proposal of Heiner Kamps and are convinced that Mr. Kers will successfully continue to lead the Unternehmensgruppe on its growth path," said Theo Müller, the sole shareholder of the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller.
Heiner Kamps, who has been CEO of the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller since 2011, will work closely with Kers to ensure a smooth transition up to his agreed retirement in 2015.
Ronald Kers has been responsible within the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller as CEO for the Müller UK & Ireland Group since January 2012. In this position, he has developed the successful yogurt business Müller Dairy and integrated fresh milk business Müller Wiseman Dairies into the Group.
Kers also played a central role in the acquisition of the Minsterley production site, where Cadbury chilled desserts are manufactured and distributed under license, as well as in the acquisition of the NOM Dairy UK Limited in Telford (now TM Telford), which is key to the development of the Group’s UK private label yogurt business. Most recently under Kers’ leadership, Müller entered the British butter market by opening its own butter factory in Market Drayton.
Under the leadership of Heiner Kamps, the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller developed from a dairy company with over 2 billion Euros in annual turnover and about 5,000 employees into an international food company with an annual turnover of around 5 billion Euros and 21,000 employees.
Topics
About Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller
The holding company manages the business of subsidiaries in the dairy segment. These subsidiaries have their own strong brands: Müller, Müller Wiseman, Weihenstephan, Sachsenmilch and Käserei Loose.
Retail brands and basic dairy products, such as butter, UHT milk, lactose powder and whey protein, complete the portfolio. In addition to the milk-processing subsidiaries, the packaging company Optipack, the company’s own logistics firm Culina and Müller Naturfarm, one of the largest fruit-processing companies in Germany, also belong to the group company.
The activities of the HK Food Group, one of the leading convenience food companies in Germany, also come under the umbrella of the group company. The product range includes leading brands in the chilled gourmet salad segment, sauces and fish specialties, such as Homann, Nadler, Livio and other Homann Group brands. The Nordsee branch business is also part of the group.
Under the management of CEO Heiner Kamps, Stefan Müller and Dr. Henrik Bauwens the group companies generate annual revenues of around €5 billion and have around 21,000 employees.
Müller UK & Ireland Group
Müller UK & Ireland Group is wholly owned by the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller. It has 19 sites nationwide and employs almost 6,000 people across four business units: Müller Dairy, Müller Wiseman Dairies, Müller Minsterley and TM Telford.
Based in Market Drayton, Müller Dairy is the UK's leading yogurt manufacturer, with major brands such as Müller Corner, Müllerlight and Müller Rice.
Müller Wiseman Dairies processes and delivers around 30% of the fresh milk consumed in Britain every day and is famous for its black & white cow-print branding. In December 2013, the business formally opened a major new state of the art butter-making plant in Shropshire, with the capacity to produce up to 45,000 tonnes of salted, unsalted and lactic butter each year.
Müller Minsterley is our facility near Shrewsbury at which chilled desserts including Cadbury Bubbles of Joy, Pots of Joy, Layers of Joy and Twin-pot products are produced under a license from Cadbury.
TM Telford is a state of the art yogurt production facility in Telford, Shropshire which is focused on the development of the company's presence in the UK private label yogurt market.
To make its range of dairy products, the company buys milk from more than 1,200 British dairy farmers, all of whom are Red Tractor Farm Assured.
Müller Wiseman Milk Group Dairy members elect a representative farmer board which works with the company to discuss milk supply issues, including the Group's commitment to maintain a competitive milk price and contractual position.
