Margarine Unie

Margarine Unie, formally Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie, was a Dutch margarine company created in 1927 through the combination of four businesses: Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's. The company brought together major margarine interests with roots in the Netherlands, Britain, and continental Europe, and became particularly prominent in the United Kingdom, where it was described as the dominant margarine producer. The company's development reflected the industrialization and consolidation of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century margarine trade. One of its principal predecessors, Antoon Jurgens United, was founded by Antoon Jurgens in 1867. After acquiring patents and rights connected with Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès's margarine invention in 1871, the business expanded manufactured margarine production. By 1908, Antoon Jurgens United was producing approximately 50,000 tons. Another important predecessor, Van den Bergh's, was established by Samuel van den Bergh in Oss, Netherlands. In 1908, Antoon Jurgens United and Van den Bergh's entered a profit-sharing arrangement, helping establish the commercial and organizational links that later supported their combination. Schicht's supplied another strand of the group's industrial heritage. It originated with Georg Schicht and was associated with his son Johann Schicht, a German-Bohemian entrepreneur whose business interests included a large soap-making plant. The inclusion of Schicht's and Centra broadened the 1927 merger beyond the two major Oss-based margarine houses. Margarine Unie was organized through an arrangement intended to give shareholders an economic interest equivalent to holding shares in a single combined enterprise. The new company acquired Van den Bergh's interests in England and the Dutch interests of Van den Bergh's and Antoon Jurgens United. This structure linked the company's Dutch legal and industrial base with its substantial British market position. Margarine Unie existed as an independent company for only three years. In 1930 it merged with the British soap and consumer-goods company Lever Brothers. The transaction created Unilever, a multinational group whose early portfolio combined margarine and soap businesses. Margarine Unie's independent corporate identity therefore ended with the formation of Unilever, although its assets, operating capabilities, and margarine heritage became part of Unilever's food business. The legacy of the business continued within Unilever for decades. In 2017, Unilever separated its margarine business into Upfield, legally associated with Upfield Europe BV and based in Rotterdam. This later corporate separation did not recreate Margarine Unie as an independent company, but it returned a major part of the margarine business to a Dutch base associated with the company's historical origins.

Margarine Unie emerged from the consolidation of several European margarine enterprises. Its earliest cited predecessor was Antoon Jurgens United, founded in 1867 by Antoon Jurgens. In 1871, the company acquired patents and rights associated with Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès's invention of margarine and developed manufactured production on an industrial scale. Its output had reached 50,000 tons by 1908. Van den Bergh's was another central predecessor. Founded by Samuel van den Bergh in Oss, Netherlands, it operated in the same regional margarine industry as Antoon Jurgens United. The two companies established a profit-sharing arrangement in 1908, an important step toward closer commercial coordination. Schicht's represented a separate industrial lineage founded by Georg Schicht and associated with his son Johann Schicht, a German-Bohemian entrepreneur who owned a substantial soap-making plant. Centra was the fourth company included in the later combination. Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie was established in 1927 through the merger of Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's. The transaction was structured so that shareholders in the participating businesses benefited economically as though they held interests in one company. Margarine Unie acquired Van den Bergh's English interests, organized as Margarine Union Limited, together with the Dutch interests of Van den Bergh's and Antoon Jurgens United. The resulting group had a multinational operating footprint and became the dominant margarine producer in the United Kingdom. The company remained independent for a short period. In 1930 it merged with Lever Brothers, a British company best known for soap and related consumer products. The combination created Unilever, joining Margarine Unie's margarine operations with Lever Brothers' consumer-goods business. Margarine Unie consequently ceased to operate as a separate company, while its industrial assets and margarine expertise became part of Unilever's expanding international group. The subsequent history of the margarine business remained connected to Unilever for much of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In 2017, Unilever spun off its margarine business into Upfield, associated with Upfield Europe BV and based in Rotterdam. Upfield's creation marked a later reorganization of the margarine business rather than a reestablishment of Margarine Unie as a legal or operating company.

• 2017

  Unilever separates its margarine business into Upfield

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Unilever spun off its margarine business into Upfield, associated with Upfield Europe BV in Rotterdam.

• 1930

  Merger with Lever Brothers creates Unilever

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Margarine Unie merged with Lever Brothers, forming Unilever and ending Margarine Unie's existence as an independent company.

• 1927

  Margarine Unie is formed

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's merged to create Margarine Unie, with interests in the Netherlands, Britain, and continental Europe.

• 1908

  Profit-sharing arrangement between major Oss producers

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Antoon Jurgens United and Van den Bergh's entered a profit-sharing arrangement. Antoon Jurgens United's reported production reached 50,000 tons during the same year.

• 1871

  Margarine manufacturing rights acquired

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Antoon Jurgens's business acquired patents and rights connected with Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès's margarine invention, supporting the development of manufactured margarine production.

• 1867

  Antoon Jurgens establishes a predecessor business

  [1]Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org

  Antoon Jurgens founded the company that later became Antoon Jurgens United, one of Margarine Unie's principal constituent businesses.

A large-scale European margarine producer formed through consolidation, with especially strong market importance in the United Kingdom.

• Food products

  Manufactured margarine

  Margarine was Margarine Unie's core product category. The company inherited and consolidated industrial margarine operations developed by Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's. Its scale and market position made it particularly important in the United Kingdom, where it was identified as the dominant margarine producer.

• 1930

  Merger with Lever BrothersM&A

  Background

  Margarine Unie and Lever Brothers each operated substantial consumer-goods businesses, with Margarine Unie focused on margarine and Lever Brothers rooted in soap and related products.

  Action taken

  The two companies merged to form Unilever.

  Aftermath

  Margarine Unie ceased to operate independently, and its margarine operations became part of Unilever's multinational portfolio.

  Source

• 1927

  Consolidation of four margarine companiesM&A

  Background

  Several major margarine businesses had developed overlapping interests in the Netherlands, Britain, and continental Europe. The merger brought Antoon Jurgens United, Van den Bergh's, Centra, and Schicht's into one corporate structure.

  Action taken

  The companies formed Naamloze Vennootschap Margarine Unie and arranged shareholder participation so that investors benefited economically as if they held interests in a single combined enterprise.

  Aftermath

  The transaction created a large international margarine producer and strengthened the group's position in the United Kingdom.

  Source

1. 1Margarine Unieen.wikipedia.org