Aller Aqua has won the Entrepreneur of the Year award in Denmark, as well as a Globalization Award.
An independent jury awarded Aller Aqua the two prizes during a ceremony held in Copenhagen. The award is given out by Ernst & Young as part of the world\'s largest competition for growth companies.
The jury placed emphasis on three key areas for awarding Aller Aqua the national Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOTY) price. Firstly, the company’s long history as a family owned business and the fact that the 4th generation is in place was deemed important. Secondly, Aller Aqua’s recent and fast expansion and many locations around the globe played a major part. Finally, the fact that Aller Aqua’s business supports many of UN’s 17 sustainable development goals and the fact that fish farming is a sustainable way of producing protein-rich food to the growing world population was deemed important.
Hans Erik Bylling is third generation of the Bylling family in the business, which is still based in Aller just outside Christiansfeld. In November he inaugurated the company’s Chinese factory, Aller Aqua Qingdao, together with his son, Anders Bylling. Anders is the managing director of Aller Aqua Qingdao and 4th generation of the Bylling family involved in the business. In 2017 Aller Aqua also inaugurated a new factory in Zambia. Aller Aqua sells fish feed to more than 60 countries worldwide. Outside of Europe the sector grows by 8% yearly, and Aller Aqua supports the growth by delivering fish feed of the highest quality and by helping fish farmers optimize their yield.
Hans Erik Bylling, CEO and owner of Aller Aqua explained: “We were very excited to win the regional finals, and it means a lot to us to win both the national final and the Globalization award. EY’s recognition of the work we do and how we conduct business around the world makes us very proud! We were up against some very strong contenders, so we feel truly humbled to bring these awards back to the office.”
“The opening of two new factories this year as well as our approach to sustainable production and knowledge sharing in new challenging markets are some of the reasons we have received these awards,\" stated Henrik T. Halken, Group Vice President and owner. \"We place a big emphasis on education of fish farmers in new markets as well as our CSR activities. It is certainly possible to achieve growth in a responsible way.”
Aller Aqua is now through to the EY World Entrepreneur of The Year finals which take place in Monaco in 2018. All in all the award is given out in more than 60 countries.
This year 1361 Danish businesses met the requirements for participation in EOTY. An independent jury selected six regional finalists, and the winners met at the national finals. 2017 is the 32nd year the award is handed out internationally.
