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Royal Canin manufactures and supplies dog and cat feed worldwide. The company also undertakes research into the formulation and testing of breed and symptom specific nutritional requirements of dogs and cats. It was established by a French veterinary surgeon after he successfully treated a number of skin and coat conditions in pets by feeding them a cereal-based diet he prepared in his garage. After importing an extruder from the US, the company was the first to manufacture dry pet food in France. Aimed primarily at breeders, production steadily increased and distribution extended further into the European market. Sold to the Guyomarc'h Group in 1972, it underwent a further period of expansion, especially in the area of research and development, before being purchased by the Paribas Bank in 1990. The company was floated on the French stock exchange but removed later after it was sold to Mars, Incorporated. == Company history == The company was established by the French veterinary surgeon Jean Cathary in 1967. He had a veterinary practice in a village in the Gard region of France and was concerned many people’s pets were being presented with a variety of health problems, especially skin and coat conditions. Convinced the cause was dietary, Cathary devised a cereal–based recipe, which he prepared in an oven in his garage. The diet successfully alleviated the problems pets were presented with, so in 1968, Cathary registered the food with the trademark “Royal Canin”. He closed his veterinary practice to concentrate on manufacturing and distributing the feed. An extruder was imported from the U.S. and Royal Canin became the first manufacturer of dry pet food in France and the first European company to use an extruder. The target market was primarily breeders and German Shepherd associations; television advertising was used to promote the product, something which was not being undertaken by competitors. Production steadily increased and in 1970, the company was incorporated as "Royal Canin S. A."; a larger factory was opened in Aimargues and began distribution throughout Europe. Forty staff were employed in the annual production of five–thousand five hundred tons of feed. A subsidiary, Royal Canin Iberica, was established in Spain. However, Cathary sold the company to the Guyomarc'h Group in March 1972. Guyomarc'h was a much larger, family run, animal feed business founded by Jean Guyomarc’h in 1954, which specialised in livestock feed. The period under the ownership of Guyomarc'h saw a marked expansion of the company, particularly in the area of research and development. A dedicated research centre was opened in Saint-Nolff, Brittany, during 1973. Over the ten years up to 1982 additional subsidiaries were also set up in other European countries. These included Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Denmark. Another factory was built in northern France to service sales in the countries of the north of Europe. The Guyomarc'h group of companies was purchased by the Paribas Bank in 1990. Royal Canin recorded a loss in 1993, then the following year the Guyomarc'h group was divided into four separate businesses, one of which remained as Royal Canin. The bank wished to sell Royal Canin but its chairman managed to persuade the bank to list it on the Paris stock exchange instead, which took place in 1997. Forty–three percent of the company was floated on the stock market and it raised the companies valuation to four and half billion francs. The additional revenue raised provided the funding to buy Crown Pet Foods in 1999 and the James Wellbeloved brand in 2000. The bank sold its holding in the company to Mars, Incorporated in July 2001 for in excess of one and a half billion euros. The majority of this payment, almost ninety–three percent, was for "goodwill". The European Commission only agreed the takeover by Mars if Royal Canin disposed of some assets to Agrolimen, a Spanish company. Royal Canin was removed from the stock exchange listing after the take over by Mars. In March 2004, Royal Canin acquired the veterinary grade manufacturers/service providers, in the U.S. and Canada, the IVD, Medi–Cal and Techni–Cal brands from Del Monte Foods for $82.5 million. By 2008, as much as eighty percent of Royal Canin's one and a half billion euro revenue was generated from sales outside France. The number of staff employed worldwide was around four thousand five hundred. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal Canin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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