Groundbreaking Celebrations with Traditional Chinese Lion Dance

The invitation to attend the inaugural ceremony of Danish Crown's new factory outside Shanghai was accepted by Chinese customers, suppliers, business partners, and official representatives. Søren F. Eriksen, CEO of Danish Crown Pork, who has a civil engineering background and has attended numerous ground-breaking ceremonies for significant construction projects, stated that none could compare to the one he witnessed today. Søren F. Eriksen, along with Danish Crown’s Group CEO, Jais Valeur, and Qi Hailong, the party secretary for the Pinghu district, initiated the construction project by cutting the first sod. This was succeeded by a captivating lion dance, a Chinese tradition believed to bring good fortune to the project. Eriksen expressed his excitement about the day and the people who will contribute to the success of the Pinghu factory. He emphasized that in China, the commencement of a large construction project is a more significant milestone than in Denmark, as it is an opportunity to ensure mutual commitment to the project. The new Danish Crown factory, located about 100 km from Shanghai's city centre in Pinghu, spans 17,000 square meters. It is projected to produce 14,000 tonnes of processed products annually for Shanghai's 25 million residents. Jais Valeur stated that this is a significant and daring move for Danish Crown, but it is also an opportunity that they must seize. He stressed that to maintain and enhance Danish Crown’s global standing as a top food product supplier, they must consistently lead in innovation and the exploration of new markets. The factory is expected to be operational in about a year, at which point it will start supplying fresh pre-packed pork for the retail industry and processed products like bacon and sausages for Chinese customers.