Hans Struik ‘FoodManager of the Year’
15/10/2008
Scheveningen, 9 October – Director-owner Hans Struik of Struik Foods Europe has been named the new Foodmanager of the Year.
Hans Struik was awarded the honour for the way he has built his company, Struik Foods Europe, into a leading supplier of innovative and high-quality food products. His company produce a wide variety of chilled and shelf stable products including ready meals, meal components, soups and sauces. Struik Foods Europe has earned a reputation among retailers for launching first-to-market products, with new and exciting additions to their ranges each year.
The presentation of the Foodmanager of the Year award occurs each year at the National Food Convention. This year’s convention was held on October 9th and 10th in the Kurhaus in Scheveningen.
Dick Boer, board chairman at Albert Heijn, and ‘2007 Foodmanager of the Year’, announced this year’s honouree. As Hand Struik was unable to attend due to business, his partner Monika Milz accepted the prize on his behalf.
Photographer: Jan Willem Houweling
Foodmanager of the Year is sponsored by FoodPersonality, a monthly magazine for the supermarket sector.
The Foodmanager of the Year is chosen by a jury. FoodPersonality compiles a list each year of ten to fifteen candidates working in the food products sector. The jury determines which of these candidates will be named Foodmanager of the Year. The names of the unsuccessful candidates are not disclosed.
Each year, the previous five Foodmanager of the Year winners sit on the jury, together with the chair of the advisory board for the National Food Convention (the event at which the prize is announced). This year, the jury consisted of:
- Dick Boer, board chairman of Albert Heijn and member of the Ahold Executive Board
- Frans Barel, member of the board of commissioners, Refresco Holding
- Karel van Eerd, general director, Jumbo Supermarkten
- Frans Fredrix, former general director, Superunie
- Jaap Lagerweij, general director, Sperwer Holding
- Joop Kalksma, chairman, advisory board, National Food Convention
Editor-in-chief Gé Lommen, of FoodPersonality, is the non-voting chairman of this jury.
The jury’s evaluation read as follows:
Hans Struik, board chairman of Struik Foods Europe, has built up a company that defies comparison. Consumers mainly know Struik Foods Europe for their shelf-stable products and ready-meals. However, in the food industry itself, Struik Foods Europe is well-known for completely different reasons. Year after year, Struik Foods Europe has developed numerous exceptional food products: refrigerated, frozen and long-life. Soups, sauces, ready-meals and meal components. These products are often so innovative that they, or even just their packaging, are trendsetting, and their launch causes a revolution in their category. For retailers, the existence of businesses such as Struik Foods Europe is a major precondition to offering a distinctive product selection. Struik Foods Europe has been able to develop into a prominent, flourishing business under the inspiring leadership of director-owner Hans Struik, son of founder Bernard Struik. Hans Struik took over his father’s company in 1965. Over the years, he took over several competitors, in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain. Yet Hans Struik may best be described as a man who studies day and night, with enthusiasm and commitment, and experiments with, new production and preparation techniques. This commitment has contributed to the necessary and desirable improvements in food product offerings. Hans Struik has called his company “Europe’s kitchen”. The jury would like to paraphrase him and call Hans Struik Europe’s top chef.”*
The following criteria were applied in the jury’s assessment:
The Foodmanager of the Year:
1 – has contributed and realised important innovations within his/her organisation due to his/her efforts;
2 – has achieved great success through applying a clear-cut, long term strategy;
3 – has developed his/her organisation into a flourishing enterprise;
4 – has used his/her creativity to contribute to necessary modernisation within the food products industry;
5 – is a charismatic leader who stands out from other managers;
6 – builds up excellent client relationships with market parties.
This year marks the twelfth awarding of the Foodmanager of the Year prize. Previous recipients of the honour were:
1997 - André Michel (Konmar, now Vomar)
1998 - Jan Brouwer (Schuitema, now Super de Boer)
1999 - Joop Kalksma (Campina, now an independent advisor)
2000 - Klaas van den Doel (Sperwer, now CBL)
2001 - Jaap Bastmeijer (Nettorama)
2002 - Johan Lokhorst (Peijnenburg, now Lotus)
2003 - Jaap Lagerweij (Sperwer)
2004 - Karel van Eerd (Jumbo)
2005 - Frans Barel (Refresco)
2006 - Frans Fredrix (Superunie, now an independent advisor)
2007 – Dick Boer (Albert Heijn/Ahold)
