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In January, we officially opened a new Customer
Innovation Center in Hull, UK. The center comprises
a large test bakery, a state-of-the-art demonstration
kitchen, and conference and office facilities. In
February, another Customer Innovation Center,
focused on co-developing products and solutions
within Retail and Foodservice, was inaugurated in
Runcorn, UK.
In May, Johan Westman assumed his role as
President and CEO. Prior to joining AAK, Johan was
Senior Vice President Europe and Managing Director
of the BlankLight division at Shiloh Industries, a
global innovative solutions provider to the mobility
market with its base in Valley City, Ohio, USA.
To strengthen our position in yet another important
Asian market, we invested in a customization plant in
the Philippines at the end of May (picture to the right).
For the Annual General Meeting in May, the Nomination
Committee of AAK AB proposed new election
of Georg Brunstam as Chairman of the Board. The
Annual General Meeting resolved in accordance with
the proposal. It also resolved upon a share split (6:1)
which came into effect in mid-June.
In June, we signed an exclusive agent and distributor
agreement with Food Specialities Limited (FSL), the
leading food and beverage ingredient supplier in the
GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.
In August, Terry Thomas, President USA, retired
from AAK after nearly five and half years with the
company. Octavio Díaz de León, President North
Latin America, has taken over the responsibility for
our US organization and continues to be responsible
for North Latin America as well.
In September, we inaugurated our new Customer
Innovation Center in Singapore. The center will
further strengthen our capabilities and customer
co-development approach in the Southeast Asian
market.
In November, AAK established an MTN program
(Medium Term Note) with a framework amount of
SEK 4,000 million. The following month, the company
issued a senior unsecured bond for a total of SEK 1.1
billion with a tenor of three years.
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