By the end of May we were up and running in our new state of the art production facility just in the outskirts of Shanghai, China. A huge relocation operation it was! In two days more than 200 trucks loaded with barrels were driving up and down from the old to the new factory. With the new factory we have increased our capacity to a much higher level which matches the ambition of the company. The new workshops and product flow are designed with a visionary view of the industry. We are now years ahead of the casing industry standards, enabling us to show our partners our professional attitude and commitment to food safety and hygiene.

Between May 15 and 17, 2008 van Hessen China participated in the China International Meat Exhibition in Beijing, China. We exhibited with a functional and high profile booth at the Holland Pavilion Exhibition, surrounded by other Dutch companies and governmental institutions. The exhibition has been a great success with many visitors from the Chinese processed meats and slaughtering industry.

Bureau Veritas has completed the annual audit of our IFS quality system. On January 1, 2008 IFS has raised its standards to a higher level. Therefore many companies could not meet the requirements and were forced to return to the foundation level. However, we are proud to say we have maintained our higher level certification!

During a trade dinner in Shanghai on October 28th our General Manager of Van Hessen Trading handed our world famous Guts & Glory booklet to the Prime Minister of The Netherlands, Jan-Peter Balkenende.

From October 18, to October 23rd representatives of our company will visit the Sial in Paris. This food exhibition is frequently visited by current and potential suppliers and customers from around the world. We will visit various partners in our industry at their booths to strengthen relationships and we will establish new possible business partners during the event.

With our new website we have established a new communication era for our group. Through modern design, recent and historical pictures, new functionality and an easier contact mode we hope to attract many more visitors to our website. In the months to come more functionality will be added to the website which is now easier to maintain as well. The idea is to show our partners and possibly interested professionals visiting our website, our commitment to the production and distribution of reliable high quality casings.

On september 13th we will have the long expected family day at the premises in Nieuwerkerk A/D IJssel (The Netherlands). The Management and the Personnel Association have invited the family members of the employees of Van Hessen BV to visit the company and have a look around. During this event there will be sufficient time to have a tour through the company facilities and get a better understanding of its operations. Of course it will be a day full of activities for both the younger and older generations. Naturally, sausages and a drinks will be served.