Almarai
 | |
| Public | |
| Industry | Food industry |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Key people |
Sultan Al Kabeer (Chairman) Georges Schorderet (CEO) |
| Products | Dairy, Yogurt, Juices, Bakeries, Poultry and Infant formula |
| Revenue |
 SR 10 billion |
| Website | http://almarai.com |
Almarai (Arabic: المراعي, lit. '"The Pasture"') was established in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1977 as a partnership between the Irish agri-foods pioneer Alastair McGuckian, his brother Paddy and Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer.[1] Today, Almarai is the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the world.[2]
Developments
During the early 1990s, Almarai entered a period of restructuring and reinvestment that took it from a decentralized to a centralized structure. Five decentralized processing plants were replaced with the a central processing plant. Also ten small scattered dairy farms were replaced with four large dairy farms in Al Kharj in the central region.
2005 brought many developments for Almarai, a second larger central processing plant was commissioned, incorporating a new cheese plant, two new super-farms were commissioned and Almarai a publicly listed company that has around 70,000 shareholders.
Bakery
In 2007, Almarai entered the bakery category by acquiring Jeddah-based Western Bakeries. Two years later, it started the construction of a new bakery facility in Al Kharj.
Poultry
In 2009, Almarai acquired the Hail Agricultural Development Company (HADCO). After investing in a production facility, it launched the new poultry brand – Alyoum.
Geographical expansion
Almarai partnered with PepsiCo. In 2009 and launched a joint venture – the International Dairy and Juice (IDJ) Company
Infant nutrition
In 2010, Almarai entered the infant nutrition market with the construction of the region’s first infant nutrition plant at Al Kharj, commissioned in 2012. Almarai formed the International Pediatric Nutrition Company (IPNC), a 50-50 joint venture with Mead Johnson Nutrition. Its infant nutrition products are co-branded under Almarai and Mead Johnson’s flagship range, Enfa.
At the end of 2012, Almarai's market capitalization exceeded SAR25 million.
Community services
Almarai engages in direct charitable donations and sponsorship of events supporting social causes. In conjunction with the Arab Bureau of Education at the Gulf Cooperation Council, Almarai sponsors the Scholastic Excellence Award for Public Education students. The award recognizes students from all levels of public education throughout the Persian Gulf region for their academic achievements. Almarai also Awards Scientific Creativity, this award was launched in partnership with the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology with the aim of encouraging scientific research which benefits the society. Almarai supported Bin Baz Charitable Project to assist the marriage of couples with limited means. Other nonprofit organizations supported by Almarai include: the orphan welfare Society (Ensan), Down Syndrome Charitable Association (DSCA) and Saudi Autism Organization and the Saudi Breast Cancer Society (Zahra).
Awards
Almarai was the first dairy farm in to be accredited with ISO 22000.[3] Almarai also received the ISO 9001-2000, across all its operating divisions, (farming, procurement, processing, technical research and development, distribution and supply chain.
References
- ↑ Hidden Billionaire Milking Saudi Dairy Fortune in Desert, Bloomberg
- ↑ "Innovation Drive Al-Marai". Elopak. Archived from the original on 13 November 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ↑ Morris, Charles E.; Mans, Jack (1 October 1998). "Almarai Co. Ltd.: Dairy in the Desert". accessmylibrary. Retrieved 19 October 2008.