Fire in AAK's plant in Aarhus

Fire in AAK's plant in Aarhus

One killed; temporary production standstill

One employee, a team leader, was killed when an explosion and fire occurred at
AAK's plant in Aarhus, Denmark yesterday morning. The accident took place in the
facility where vegetable oils are processed to be used as components in
chocolate and confectionery fats. 

- We feel the deepest sympathy and share the grief of our deceased colleague's
family, says Jørgen Balle, Managing Director for AarhusKarlshamn Denmark and
President for AAK's business area Chocolate & Confectionery Fats. - Our thoughts
go out to them, and we will do all we can to help at this difficult time. 
- Security has top priority in the company, both in relation to the employees
and to our surroundings, and this accident will cause us to do a new, thorough
review so that we can prevent similar accidents in the future, Jørgen Balle
says. 

The fire was intense, but was put out during Tuesday morning. An examination
carried out together with authorities will show what caused the fire, but
because of security issues it will take some days before it is possible to gain
an overview of the damage and what caused the accident. 
Management foresees a standstill in the facilities that were damaged, but the
scope is difficult to assess before the investigations are completed. Other
production facilities will resume production during the next few days. Part of
the lost production volume will be covered by AAK's other production sites. 

For further information, please contact: 
Bo Svensson, CIO  Tel: + 46 454 820 00 or +46 40 627 83 00 Mobile: + 46 708 18
21 93  E-mail: bo.svensson@aak.com

Facts/AarhusKarlshamn 
AarhusKarlshamn is the world's leading manufacturer of highly refined vegetable
special fats. These fats are noted for their high technology content and are
used as butterfat and cocoa butter substitutes, transfree solutions for
chocolate fillings and confectionery, and in the cosmetics industry.
AarhusKarlshamn has production plants in Denmark, the Netherlands, Mexico, Great
Britain, Sweden, Uruguay and the U.S.A. AAK is organised into three business
areas: Chocolate & Confectionery Fats, Food Ingredients, and Technical Products& Feed. For further information on AarhusKarlshamn, visit the company's websi te
at www.aak.com