Korn- og Foderstof Kompagniet (KfK) was a Danish company in the feed-stuffs industry. Founded in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
in 1896 by 12 merchants it grew through the early 20th century to become one of the largest Danish businesses trading in feed-stuffs and grain with branches in many Danish cities. It became one of the largest employers in Aarhus until the 2000s when the grain business was bought by a number of competitors, led by Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab, and renamed Treka. The remainder of KfK was reformed into the company Biomar A/S, focused mainly on fish feed.
History
In the early 1900s the
grain trade
The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...
changed dramatically as industrialization changed infrastructure and the scale of factories. Developments tended towards larger companies, increased competition and less personal relations between merchants and farmers. On this background 12 merchants in eastern
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
merged their businesses to form ''Korn- og Foderstof Kompagniet'' (English: The Grain- and Feed-stuff Company) or ''KfK'' on 2 June 1896. The goal was the advantages of larger scale and limiting competition in the region in order to focus on expansion to other markets. The founding members were some of the wealthiest and prominent businessmen in the region and counted among them Hans Broge, Otto Mønsted and Harboe Meulengracht from Aarhus and Johan Ankerstjerne from
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().
The silo complex in the Port of Aarhus was heavily damaged during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
when a German ammunition barge exploded on 4 July 1944. The complex had to be rebuilt almost from scratch but that also meant the branch in Aarhus entered to post-war years with modern facilities. The complex was heavily expanded around 1960 with new large silos but since the company stopped in 2002 many have been demolished to make room for new developments.
In the decades following the establishment the company grew to have branches across the country. In 1913 KfK went public and up to the 1970s it was dominated by many minor stockholders. Until 1968 individual branches acted as independent entities for their local areas while the main office in Aarhus coordinated imports of
press cake
A press cake or oil cake is the solid matter remaining after Expeller pressing, pressing something to extract the liquids. Their most common use is in fodder, animal feed.
Some foods whose processing creates press cakes are olives for olive o ...
s and the international business. In 1968 the administration was centralized and moved to a new office building in Viby J. The following years
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...
bought increasingly larger shares of stock which eventually grew to some 62,5%. In 2002 KfK was put up for sale and a
consortium
A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...
of 8 companies headed by Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab (DLG) bought all activities related to agriculture.
The remaining business was renamed Treka A/S consisting of two separate companies; BioMar A/S, producing fish feed, and EcoNordic, producing biofuels in the form of
wood pellets
Pellet fuels (or pellets) are a type of solid fuel made from compressed organic material. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of Biomass (energy), biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, Crop residue, agricul ...
. EcoNordic was sold to
Statoil
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...
in 2003 where it became the subsidiary Statoil EcoNordic and in 2005
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...
sold its controlling share in Biomar to Schouw & Co. In 2012, Biomar had a revenue of 8.2 billion DKK and 1000 employees in production facilities in seven countries.