1. Should HV Industri A
S enter the UK market with hermetically packaged fish? HV Industri A
S is a medium-sized company that processes fish using hermetics technology. It has its headquarters in Koge, Denmark, which is a few kilometers south of Copenhagen. The company’s total turnover for 2003 was approximately DKr80 million.

The annual growth in turnover averaged 5% during the early 2000s.

Within the fishing industry, hermetics is defined to include frozen fish, hermetically packed meals, hermetically packed shellfish, and sardines. The canned fish and shellfish industry is further defined by the WTO as including fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, prepared or preserved other than by freezing, salting, drying, or smoking, in airtight containers. Caviar and caviar substitutes, prepared or preserved fish livers, fish marinades, fish and shrimp paste and prepared snails, in airtight containers, are also included.

The company produces a high quality product. Only the best fresh fish are processed. HV’s processing plant is modern and the quality of its canned products is very high. The company uses hermetical sealing for both cans and polybags.

The company sells mainly in Denmark. It has had limited exporting experience, primarily in Germany and Austria. In early 2004 the company’s managing director and founder, Harald Vester, asked the marketing manager, Oli Viberg, to explore the possibility of HV Industri entering the UK market. What follows are observations made by Mr Viberg about the British situation.