Delica (enterprise)
Encyclopedia
Delica AG, based in Birsfelden
(near Basel), is a business enterprise of the M-Industry and belongs to the Swiss trading group Migros
. Its field of activities comprises the procurement, refinement, packaging and marketing of raw materials and commodities from around the world, with particular emphasis on coffee
and non-perishable foods such as dried fruit
s and mushroom
s, nut
s and kernels, spice
s, as well as legumes.
Delica supplies retail traders, wholesalers, food manufacturers and catering companies. In 2010 the company had a turnover of over 235 million Swiss Francs, of which 14.5 million came from exports.
Migros Zentralpackerei AG (MZP) was established in 1964 on the same premises and took over the coffee roasting house and packaging lines from MLG. In addition, MZP took on the task of producing paper packaging for all Migros cooperatives.
The frozen poultry section and the GIFA warehouse were moved to the central distribution centre of Migros-Verteilbetrieb Neuendorf
AG (MVN) in 1972 and 1974, respectively. In 1977 the operations and distribution centre of the Migros Cooperative Basel was transferred from the site in Birsfelden to Münchenstein
, upon which MLG took over the properties.
On 1 January 1987, MLG and MZP merged to become Migros Betriebe Birsfelden AG (MBB). MBB took over the marketing, sales and procurement divisions from FMC on 1 June 2004. As a commercial enterprise, MBB also offered logistics services (handling, storage, customs clearance) to third parties. 20 years after the merger, on 1 January 2007, MBB changed its name to Delica AG. In November 2006, the packaging production was outsourced to the newly founded InnoPacking AG in Pratteln
by means of a management buyout
.
In October 2008, the FMC management agreed to a partial merger between Delica and its affiliated company Chocolat Frey
, which took effect on 1 January 2009. Since then, both companies have been run by one and the same management team, while the administration has been centralised to a large extent at the headquarters of Chocolat Frey in Buchs
in the canton of Aargau.
, tea
, spices, legumes (beans, lentils, peas
), nuts, dried fruits and dried mushrooms.
Coffees make up Delica’s best-selling product group. Since their launch in 2004, the Delizio
coffee capsules have overtaken Delica’s traditional ground and unground coffee beans and instant coffee in terms of turnover. Moreover, the Delizio coffee capsule system was launched internationally under the name of Cremesso in September 2009, and is now sold in several countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
With some 11,000 tonnes of processed green coffee and a packaging capacity of 25 million sales units per year, Delica is one of Switzerland’s largest coffee roasting companies. Up to 100 tonnes of coffee can be processed each day in its three roasting plants. With about 8,000 tonnes of processed non-perishables and a capacity of 37 million sales units per year, Delica is also one of the biggest domestic packing companies of non-perishable products.
As a commercial enterprise, Delica also acts as a middleman for the affiliated companies that belong to FMC. In addition, goods for wholesalers and third-party food producers are imported and processed, and about 7 % are exported.
Birsfelden
Birsfelden is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.-History:Birsfelden is first mentioned in 1274 as minor Rinvelden. Around 1500 it was first mentioned as Birsfeld.-Geography:...
(near Basel), is a business enterprise of the M-Industry and belongs to the Swiss trading group Migros
Migros
Migros is one of Switzerland's largest enterprises, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It co-founded Turkey's largest retailer, Migros Türk, which became independent of Migros Switzerland in 1975....
. Its field of activities comprises the procurement, refinement, packaging and marketing of raw materials and commodities from around the world, with particular emphasis on coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and non-perishable foods such as dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
s and mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s and kernels, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s, as well as legumes.
Delica supplies retail traders, wholesalers, food manufacturers and catering companies. In 2010 the company had a turnover of over 235 million Swiss Francs, of which 14.5 million came from exports.
History
Migros Lagerhaus Genossenschaft (MLG) was founded in 1954. The Federation of Migros Cooperatives (FMC) bought a site for MLG on the former Basel-Sternenfeld airfield in Birsfelden, which had been shut down in 1953. This site was located directly on the banks of the Rhine, where a mooring and shipping terminal was built for the subsidiary Reederei Zürich AG (RZ), a shipping company founded in the same year. Since its opening, the warehouse complex of MLG consisted of cold storage rooms and dry storage facilities for nuts, coffee, tea, spices and dried fruits, as well as the centralised coffee roasting house and the packaging lines for the products delivered.Migros Zentralpackerei AG (MZP) was established in 1964 on the same premises and took over the coffee roasting house and packaging lines from MLG. In addition, MZP took on the task of producing paper packaging for all Migros cooperatives.
The frozen poultry section and the GIFA warehouse were moved to the central distribution centre of Migros-Verteilbetrieb Neuendorf
Neuendorf, Switzerland
Neuendorf is a municipality in the district of Gäu in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-Geography:Neuendorf has an area, , of . Of this area, or 49.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.1% is forested...
AG (MVN) in 1972 and 1974, respectively. In 1977 the operations and distribution centre of the Migros Cooperative Basel was transferred from the site in Birsfelden to Münchenstein
Münchenstein
Münchenstein is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland.-Historical records:Münchenstein is first mentioned in 1196 as Kekingen. In 1270 it was mentioned as Geckingen and in 1279 as Munchenstein.* 1259: The hamlet and the mill, between "Neue...
, upon which MLG took over the properties.
On 1 January 1987, MLG and MZP merged to become Migros Betriebe Birsfelden AG (MBB). MBB took over the marketing, sales and procurement divisions from FMC on 1 June 2004. As a commercial enterprise, MBB also offered logistics services (handling, storage, customs clearance) to third parties. 20 years after the merger, on 1 January 2007, MBB changed its name to Delica AG. In November 2006, the packaging production was outsourced to the newly founded InnoPacking AG in Pratteln
Pratteln
Pratteln is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland, located in the district of Liestal.-Geography:Pratteln has an area, , of . Of this area, or 27.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.1% is forested...
by means of a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
.
In October 2008, the FMC management agreed to a partial merger between Delica and its affiliated company Chocolat Frey
Chocolat Frey
Chocolat Frey AG, based in Buchs in the Swiss Canton of Aargau, manufactures chocolate and chewing gum. The products of the leading chocolate manufacturer on the Swiss chocolate market are sold both in Switzerland and abroad under the brand name of Frey as well as additional private labels...
, which took effect on 1 January 2009. Since then, both companies have been run by one and the same management team, while the administration has been centralised to a large extent at the headquarters of Chocolat Frey in Buchs
Buchs, Aargau
-Government:In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 35.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP , the FDP and the CVP .-Legislative:...
in the canton of Aargau.
Products
Delica’s product range comprises coffeeCoffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, spices, legumes (beans, lentils, peas
PEAS
P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
), nuts, dried fruits and dried mushrooms.
Coffees make up Delica’s best-selling product group. Since their launch in 2004, the Delizio
coffee capsules have overtaken Delica’s traditional ground and unground coffee beans and instant coffee in terms of turnover. Moreover, the Delizio coffee capsule system was launched internationally under the name of Cremesso in September 2009, and is now sold in several countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
With some 11,000 tonnes of processed green coffee and a packaging capacity of 25 million sales units per year, Delica is one of Switzerland’s largest coffee roasting companies. Up to 100 tonnes of coffee can be processed each day in its three roasting plants. With about 8,000 tonnes of processed non-perishables and a capacity of 37 million sales units per year, Delica is also one of the biggest domestic packing companies of non-perishable products.
As a commercial enterprise, Delica also acts as a middleman for the affiliated companies that belong to FMC. In addition, goods for wholesalers and third-party food producers are imported and processed, and about 7 % are exported.