FrieslandCampina Romania managing director Cornel Cărămizaru. © FrieslandCampina
FrieslandCampina has invested €1.3 million in a cheese production line at its Napolact facility in Romania.
The installation of the new cheese line will treble the capacity of the factory in the northwestern city of Cluj-Napoca. The site will now be capable of producing between 300 and 350 tonnes of cheese per month and will aid FrieslandCampina in developing new products for its Napolact brand, according to reports in the Romanian press.
It’s part of a wider investment programme from the Dutch company, according to the newspaper Monitorul de Cluj. It is aiming to improve the efficiency and capacity of its Romanian operation, with a total spend of €3 million a year across its two production sites.
As well as the factory in Cluj-Napoca, FrieslandCampina operates a second facility in Târgu Mureş – 45 miles further east.
Cornel Cărămizaru, general manager of FrieslandCampina Romania, was quoted by Monitorul de Cluj as saying: “With this new production line, we are supporting and growing the main brand in the portfolio – Napolact – helping to deliver a superior and authentic quality product made according to traditional recipes, while benefiting from the advantages of a competitive manufacturing process.
“We will continue to invest in this plant and in process optimisation to support innovation in our product portfolio.”
The installation of the new line will create ‘hundreds of jobs’, with Cluj-Napoca mayor Emil Boc praising FrieslandCampina’s contribution to the region’s economy. Historically, the city of Cluj-Napoca has been home to the company’s operation in the country; since 2004, there were two production sites operated by FrieslandCampina in the city, but one of the factories was closed in 2013.
Its Napolact brand produces a range of bottled milks, yogurt – both drinkable and spoonable – cheese, sour cream and butter.
FrieslandCampina’s Romanian business delivered consolidated turnover of RON 331 million ($86 million) in 2016, with profit of RON 17.27 million ($4.5 million). Its largest competition – in the yogurt category, in particular – is Albalact and Danone, which turned over nearly RON 150 million ($39 million) more in the same period.
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