EIB provides loan to FrieslandCampina for research and development

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a €150m loan to dairy company FrieslandCampina, for conducting research and development activities in Europe.

This is EIB’s first ever loan to a company in the Dutch agricultural sector.

FrieslandCampina was established in 1871 by nine farmers with the acquisition of a cheese factory in Wieringerwaard, the Netherlands.

The company has expanded its operations through mergers, and it currently has operations spread across more than 100 countries.

Royal FrieslandCampina CFO Hein Schumacher said: "The EIB loan gives us the opportunity to finance our European research, development and innovation activities under favourable conditions.

"These activities are mainly carried out in our innovation centre in Wageningen where more than 300 R&D employees in various disciplines from all over the world are working together to unlock the nutritional potential of milk."

The dairy company will use the loan amount for R&D activities in facilities across Europe, with the major part of the amount being used for the construction of its innovation centre in Wageningen.

The research activities will focus on nutrition, food structuring, packaging and process technology, as well as on sensory and dietary demand aspects of dairy products.

EIB vice-president Pim van Ballekom said: "Milk and its derivatives are central to most people’s diets and the importance of the research and development surrounding the products they consume should not be underestimated.

"Although we have already supported agriculture through SME credit facilities in the past, we see this operation as a clear example of what the EIB can do for this sector."

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Image: The European Investment Bank (EIB) offers a €150m loan to FrieslandCampina for R&D activities. Photo: courtesy of Royal FrieslandCampina.