We have various buyers for the different products we produce. The contact with these customers is very frequent and involves daily customer contact – and almost always takes place through the individual VanDrie companies. We also regularly invite customers to our companies. This is how we glean information and can respond to customer wishes. This helps us guarantee product sales and maintain our market position.

Dairy farmers are crucial to our organisation. Some of their calves enter our chain through the cattle trade. We maintain active contact with dairy farmers via Alpuro Breeding and CIMA Breeding, take part in study daysat farmers/farmers’ organisations and are involved in administrative consultations with dairy farms via industry organisations. We see scope for development. We want to strengthen cooperation with the dairy and veal farming sectors. After all, we are a collective chain. In this way, we want to raise animal health and animal welfare to an even higher level.

We are dependent on various suppliers, for example for the raw materials we use for the feeds. The relationship is not only commercially driven, but also aims to safeguard quality. We actively engage in dialogue on quality standards and improving the sustainability of raw materials. We do this by means of direct customer contact and audits.

Our employees are important to us. We provide regular updates on our activities via newsletters and social media. We also hold periodic career development interviews and have several works councils and focus groups. We do not shy away from challenging discussions. Every company therefore has several confidential advisers and a whistleblowers’ scheme. This supports our commitment to good employment practices.

The veal farmers with whom we collaborate in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy are independent contractors. In addition to the companies that engage in veal farming on a contract basis and are affiliated with us, there are ‘freelance veal farmers’: veal farmers who farm animals at their own expense and risk. Contact with veal farmers is very frequent. Our regional managers, employees who offer technical support, visit each veal farmer at least once every two weeks. We therefore collaborate on safe food, sustainable and animal friendly production.

We cooperate with different transporters, for example for the transportation of raw materials, finished products and calves. There is a great deal of contact, focusing mainly on the practical process. We also regularly take the time to deepen discussions, for example about themes such as sustainability, food safety and animal welfare. In this way, we set up our transport flows in a future-oriented way based on collaboration.

Our companies are located in various municipalities in the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and Belgium. Our production sites can affect the living environment of people living in the vicinity. We believe it is important to remain in dialogue with them. That is why we regularly organise meetings with local residents and local entrepreneurs and provide information about our activities on social media and in the local press. In this way, we aim to reduce the possible negative impact on the local environment.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are parties who focus on a supposed public interest. Given the context in which we operate, that interest also focuses on our activities. We want to engage in dialogue with NGOs based on respect and a mutually constructive approach. This is reflected, for example, in the active and constructive participation of our trade association in discussions about agreements. We inform NGOs via newsletters, social media or visits. This helps to keep our strategy sharp.

Governments are influential and of importance on a variety of levels: local, regional, national and European. The themes that we discuss are different for each level. At certain times, it is about our companies’ permits, while at other times it’s about generic policy. We therefore enter into dialogue in a targeted manner depending on the level. This is essential for retaining our market position and support for our activities.

Because we produce food products, we are scrutinised intensively. This primarily concerns compliance and enforcement. The supervisory bodies come from both the public and private realms. Our guiding principles when engaging with these bodies are an open mind and the desire to improve. In this way, we want to improve our production and continue to meet the highest standards that customers and consumers expect from us.

We are a member of various industry organisations in order to foster cooperation and exchange knowledge. In many cases, we also play an active part in running those organisations. These organisations in the Netherlands, for example, are the Central Organisation for the Meat Sector (Centrale Organisatie voor de Vleessector, COV), the Dutch Veal Industry Association (Stichting Brancheorganisatie Kalversector, SBK) or Nevedi (the Dutch animal feed industry organisation). We talk about sustainability, animal health, food safety and good employment practices in the various forums of those industry organisations. This helps to keep our strategy sharp.

We maintain intensive relationships with financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and accounting firms. In terms of content, it concerns, for example, financial supervision, asset management, improving the sustainability position and the developments in legislation and regulations in the context of compliance.

We collaborate on various projects with education and knowledge institutions. Examples include the Regio Food Valley, local and national government authorities, Wageningen University & Research, Utrecht University, University of Twente and Eindhoven University of Technology, Aeres University of Applied Sciences and SVO vocational food courses. We also offer students from the various educational institutions the opportunity to do internships or graduation projects with us. This helps us stimulate innovation, discover talent, and attract new employees with the ultimate goal of making the VanDrie Group sustainable.