Finnish dairy company Valio will merge its Osuuskunta ItäMaito and Osuuskunta Maitosuomi milk procurement dairy co-operatives, and the new co-operative will become operational in September 2019.
The co-operative will be called Osuuskunta Maitosuomi and will be headquartered in Lapinlahti, and Valio claims that the merger will allow the company to further develop services for its farmer-owners and distribute resources in a more efficient manner.
A board of directors will be elected in late 2018 to oversee the transition and ensure that the goals of the merger are completed.
Once the merger has been finalised, the new co-operative will account for 20,849 shares in the company, 42.7% of the company’s total shares.
The merged unit will account for approximately 900 million litres of the company’s raw milk intake, over half of the company’s overall intake, and will consist of around 2700 farmer-owners.
Esa Kotala, chairman of the board of Osuuskunta Maitosuomi said: “The number of dairy farmer entrepreneurs in Finland has been falling by 5–7% each year for some considerable time now, which also cuts the number of members in the milk producer co-operatives.
“The merger will enable us to enhance our operations and secure the future of services offered by the co-operative.
“Advisory and expert services will be more effective together and serve the entrepreneurs more efficiently. And a large unit promotes specialisation. All services can be provided in Finnish and Swedish.”
Mikko Heikkinen, chairman of the board of ItäMaito added: “The new co-operative’s Lapinlahti domicile puts it close to the heart of the combined operating area, which extends from Ostrobothnia to North Karelia and from Kainuu to Central Finland.
“Lapinlahti’s current cheese and powder plants’ modern premises are ideal for the new co-operative’s personnel. Most of the staff will be serving the entire territory.
“The new co-operative is being christened Maitosuomi (‘Milk Finland’), which aptly describes its new operating area stretching across a large part of the best milk production regions in Finland.”
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