Cheese please WHAT'S NewS Issue 1 January 1997 working relations 3 A new cheese company is born. Formed and operated by people with extensive experience in the business. Klooster Kaas is already selling a variety of cheeses to an international market. Currently, it is negotiating contracts with more potential clients. As the house bank of Klooster Kaas, Rabobank is working closely with the company on maturing its operations. Financial administrator Wim Bouter on the company's progress, prospects and relationship with Rabobank. Wim Bouter of Klooster Kaas - a wbole life in cheese business. A new subsidiary of Bouter Kaas, Klooster Kaas is a 50/50 joint venture between Twee Provinciën, the fourth largest cheese producing company in the Netherlands, and the Bouter Groep. Klooster Kaas has been formed and is operated by people with vast experience in cheese production, packaging, and trade. Although the company has only been selling cheese since March 1996, it is already exporting 70,000 kilograms per week and is currently negotiating contracts with more buyers. Many potential clients were initially contacted during a cheese exposition (Sial '96) held in Paris in October last year. The five-day trade fair kittracted cheese producers and "connoisseurs from all over the world. The results for Klooster Kaas were an expansion of its international markets to include the Caribbean, the Dutch Antilles, and other parts of the world. FINANCIAL CONNOISSEUR As financial administrator, Wim Bouter was key to the financial set up of the new company and, therefore, has been in close contact with Rabobank during the year and a half he has been with the company. Before Klooster Kaas was formed, he worked for its parent company Bouter Kaas. In fact, he has worked in one capacity or another in the cheese business ever since he was 18 years old. He has remained in the cheese business for so long for one simple reason: He loves it. Bouter is lucky enough to be able to mix his work with his passion. He enjoys cheeses himself and is interested in all aspects of production and marketing. In a word, he is a connoisseur. CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT 'One of the fascinating things about this product is its variety,' he says. Cheese can be eaten two to four weeks after production for a subtle taste. Or up to 18 to 20 months for a very strong taste.' Cheese must be aged in a carefully controlled environment using special equipment. Younger cheese is by far the biggest seller. Few stores carry very mature cheese. The market for it is small. Even in the Netherlands only 2 to 4 percent of the cheese buying public, mainly connoisseurs like Bouter, buy very mature cheese. To find it, cheese lovers usually must resort to special cheese shops. SPECIALTY RANGE In the Netherlands, the three most widely produced cheeses are Gouda, Edam, and Maasdam. The latter is mainly exported as it has only a very small domestic market share. According to Bouter, the variety of available cheeses on the market is constantly increasing. Klooster Kaas focuses its production on these three top sellers, but also offers many specialities like garlic cheese, pepper cheese, walnut cheese, mustard cheese, and cheese made with fine herbs. In total, Klooster Kaas produces 200 to 300 different cheese products. The company sells 50 percent pre-packaged cheeses, and 50 percent whole cheeses. Klooster Kaas may be just starting up, but Bouter is very optimistic about the future. While clearly passionate about his product, Bouter is equally intense about acquiring the best possible financial support for the company. 'Rabobank has had a very close relationship with our parent company since the 1960s,' he says, 'so we knew them well. That was one reason why we opted for the bank as house financial institution. The other reason has everything to do with our market. We are increasingly export oriented and the bank has all the resources we require to expand our international operations.' KLOOSTER KAAS Het bedrijf Klooster Kaas is een joint-venture van de Bouter Groep en de Twee Provinciën. Beide bedrijven hebben een goede reputatie op het gebied van de kaasproductie. Klooster Kaas produceert tussen de 200 en 300 verschillende kaasproducten en exporteert een groot deel daarvan naar diverse landen in de wereld. De financiële man, Wim Bouter, heeft bij de opzet van de joint-venture intensief contact gehad met onze bank. De Bouter Groep doet al sinds de zestiger jaren zaken met de Rabobank. De keuze voor Rabobank als huisbank voor Klooster Kaas lag dan ook voor de hand.

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blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1997 | | pagina 3