Fish & Seafood

Parlevliet & Van der Plas Acquires Germany’s Deutsche See

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The Katwijk, Netherlands-headquartered Parlevliet & Van der Plas (P&P) fishing and processing group has sealed a deal to buy Bremerhaven, Germany-based Deutsche See GmbH for an undisclosed price, subject to approval by competition authorities. The announcement was made on February 13.

The previous owners, Egbert Miebach and Peter Dill, decided to sell the seafood distribution and marketing company after Mr. Miebach became seriously ill last year.

“This was a really difficult step for us to take, but owing to Egbert’s tragic personal and family circumstances, it was unavoidable,” said Dr. Dill. “It was particularly important to find a buyer and partner who will continue to manage Deutsche See as an independent entity and successful business as before.”

deutsche see ProdukteThey did not have to look far, as the buyer and seller have had close ties for many years. P&P, which has supplied Deutsche See for decades, operates several fishing, processing and trading companies in Bremerhaven and elsewhere in Germany. They include German Seafrozen, Euro-Baltic Fisch Verarbeitungs, Doggerbank Seefischerei and Mecklenburger Hochseefischerei.

Dirk Jan Parlevliet, co-owner of the family-run P&P business, will become involved in the management of Deutsche See starting in March. No changes are planned to Deutsche See’s business model or the company’s locations.
The German team will remain intact, with Ulrich Grewe still serving as managing director of production and technology. Dr. Dill will assist the integration process during the ownership transitional period.

“Never change a winning team,” said Dirk-Jan Parlevliet, speaking on behalf of the Parlevliet and Van der Plas families while delivering an official announcement of the sale to Deutsche See employees.

“We have a lot of plans,” he continued. “This acquisition opens up the possibility for us to enter new and strategically important markets in Germany. I’ll be using my experience gained in the procurement and production markets to continue to lead the fundamentally healthy Deutsche See business into a successful future.”

The P&P and Deutsche See enterprises are now vertically connected with each other all the way from harvesting fish from the sea to the plate. As a result, Deutsche See will be able to offer more high quality seafood from the German P&P fleet in the future.

About the Companies

PP LOGOALManaged by the Parlevliet and Van der Plas families for over 60 years, P&P employs more than 6,000 people around the world engaged in fishing on over 40 vessels and working in processing plants. Among its companies are Heiploeg International and Ouwehand.

Deutsche See employs over 1,700 people at 22 locations throughout Germany, supplying 35,000 customers in food retailing, foodservice and social catering sectors with fish and seafood products sourced globally. In 2010 it won the National German Sustainability Award for its devotion to sustainably harvesting fish and seafood.