Gilde Norsk Kjøtt is a defunct Norwegian red meat processing company organised as an agricultural cooperative. The company was by far the largest processor in the country when it merged with Prior Norge in 2006 to create Nortura.[1] The company had gradually grown together as the slaughter cooperatives in the country had merged. It was not until 2000 that the company fully merged into one legal entity. Before this it had been an association between various local slaughterhouses.
History
The first farmer owned slaughterhouse in Norway was Hamar Slagteri AS founded in 1904. Seven years later Fellesslakteriet was founded in Oslo as the first slaughter cooperative. 1930 sees the Trade Act that secured stable prices for both farmers and consumers. The background for this was overproduction that had forced down the produce prices and bankrupt many farmers. The next year Norges Kjøtt og Fleskesentral (NKF) is established as a membership organisation for all slaughterhouses in Norway. In 1958 NKF reorganised creating 17 district organisations to manage the processing and the following year Gilde is launched in Northern Norway.
In 1990 the name of the company changed to Norsk Kjøttsamvirke BA that was kept until 2004 when it took the name Gilde Norsk Kjøtt BA.