New Chr-Hansen-Novozyme alliance

Danish enzyme company Novozymes will join up with Danish ingredients business Chr. Hansen to create a platform for the development and marketing of enzyme products for the dairy industry.

"Both Chr. Hansen and Novozymes expect results from the alliance that none of us could have reached alone",​ said Lars Frederiksen, executive vice president of business operations. "We have complementary competencies and technologies and therefore we can create a unique position together,"​ he added.

The scope of the alliance could cover many aspects such as new cheese products, healthy products, cost efficient solutions and better tasting products.

In a statement this week both companies claim that the alliance is a natural consequence of their strategies. "Today Chr. Hansen is the world's leading supplier of ingredients for the dairy industry"​, explained Erik Sorensen, CEO of Chr. Hansen​. "We are following a specialist strategy within the areas we operate in, and we wish to maintain and expand our position. Partnerships like the alliance with Novozymes is an important part of our strategy, as it means that we can continue offering our customers innovative solutions and products."​

Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes, added: "In our new strategy, Novozymes has focused on a handful of new market expanding areas within enzymes. One of these areas is processed food and therefore also enzymes for the dairy industry. We have good experiences with alliances and see attractive business opportunities in co-operating with Chr. Hansen on this area."​

Both companies hope to benefit equally from the developed products and will have joint ownership to patents and other intellectual property rights developed in the alliance. Ownership relations between the two companies will remain unchanged and within the alliance development expenses will also be held by each company individually.

"We feel confident that we have reached a good agreement that will benefit Chr. Hansen's position in the dairy market,"​ Lars Frederiksen added. "Partnerships like the alliance with Novozymes are important for our specialist strategy, as it strengthens our ability to open up new business areas and continue offering our customers innovative solutions,"​ he continued.

The project is orientated towards the development of new enzyme solutions and will not include the cheese rennet business of Chr. Hansen, where present activities and arrangements will remain unchanged.

Lars Frederiksen expects the first commercial products to be launched in about two years time but warns that it is too soon to make specific sales forecasts.

According to the statement the alliance with Chr. Hansen will not influence Novozymes'​ expectations for the fiscal year 2002 as they were communicated in the six month report of 14 August 2002. In the longer term, Novozymes hopes that the alliance will have a positive influence on sales of enzymes to the food industry and contribute to a continued growth within this area.