10 years ago bygrowers A/S was founded through a merger of Gartneriet Kærby and Gartneriet Abildgaard, making it one of the largest nurseries in Scandinavia. Their strategy has been different from many other European companies but worked well and made it a successful merger. Over the years, they have grown and with effect from January 1, 2024, a generational change will take place at this Danish company. In this article, future CEO Nicolai Abildgaard tells us more about the company, its strategy as well as the generational change.
Preben Damm, Nicolai Abildgaard, and Claus Petersen.
Large range of plants. Strange strategy?
When the two nurseries merged in 2014, they decided to take a different strategy compared to many other European growers. "We decided to produce a lot of different crops. Others in the industry asked us why we did not decide to produce large quantities of just one or two crops. But as we sell the majority of our products to retailers in Scandinavia, we wanted to offer them a big range of different plants. We, for example, can supply them year-round with bedding and seasonal plants." And it turned out to be a good move. Since the merger, additional production areas have been added.
One of the biggest growers in Denmark
With a total area of 200.000 m2 of glass, 150 employees, and production of more than 30 million pot plants a year, bygrowers has become one of the largest growers, especially in the Scandinavian market. And besides Scandinavian retailers, they also supply other countries in Europe with their biggest crop, the Kalanchoe, which is about 50% of their production.
From three to one owner
Since the merger, it has been run by current owners Claus Petersen, Preben Damm, and Nicolai Abildgaard with one third of the shares each. At the turn of the year, Claus Petersen and Preben Damm retire after a long career in the industry and sell two-thirds of the shares to Nicolai Abildgaard, who thereby acquires full ownership of bygrowers A/S.
Long-planned generational change
This generational change has been a part of the company’s strategy work for the past five years. Therefore, it is with great pleasure for all parties that the long-planned generational change can be implemented from the turn of the year. The daily operations and all employees will continue as usual, with the only change being that Nicolai Abildgaard is now the CEO of the company. In 2024, Preben Damm will finish a number of project tasks, while Claus Petersen will become a member of the board.
Any future plans?
According to Nicolai Abildgaard, there are now large plans in the pipeline for the future. "Most important is that we can continue supplying the market. And not only us but also the smaller growers around us in Denmark. The last years after the good Covid-years have been challenging with inflation and high energy costs, resulting in many growers stopping or decreasing in production. It seems that the market has balanced out a bit now; not only the supply side, but also the demand, which decreased. On top of that, we see that many smaller Danish nurseries do not have a successor and for us it is important that these smaller Danish nurseries will remain in business so that we can together continue supplying the Scandinavian market."
Reception on December 12
On the occasion of the generational change, bygrowers A/S organizes a reception for their customers, suppliers, partners, and colleagues on Tuesday, December 12th, 2023, from 13.00 to 17.00. Here, they will be providing light refreshments and drinks. The reception will take place at Allégaarden, Odensevej 104, 5290 Marslev, Denmark. Eager to attend? Please register via Mette Krag Petersen at [email protected] no later than Tuesday, November 28th, 2023
For more information:
bygrowers A/S
bygrowers.dk