Aaylex completes €16m investment programme

Located about 135km from Romania’s capital Bucharest, the new facility has an output capacity of about 15 tonnes (t) of feed per hour, or 110,000t per year, according to information obtained by local business news site Profit.ro.

Aaylex claims that its upgraded slaughterhouse is the most modern facility of its kind in south-eastern Europe. The group sells its output through major retail chains and meat resellers, as well as the hotel, restaurant and café sector. Aaylex also sells a share of its output through its chain of retail stores located throughout the country.

Higher sales​

The latest investments were enabled by the group’s improved financial results for 2015, when Aaylex posted a sales increase of 10.5%. Last year, the Romanian meat processor reported revenues of about €115m, up from €104m in 2014.

In total, Aaylex processes about 60,000t of poultry meat per year, according to data released by the group. In the Romanian market, the meat industry player sells its output under the Coco Rico brand.

The group sells the majority of its processed poultry meat output in the Romanian market, with domestic sales representing 72% of the total. The remainder is intended for export sales, predominantly to other European Union member states, but also outside the EU. Some of the company’s main foreign markets include the UK, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Macedonia. Aaylex’s facilities are BRC-, IFS-, UKAS-, ISO 9001-, 14001-, and 22000-certified. In addition to this, the company is enabled to produce halal meat.

Aaylex is controlled by Romanian businessman Bogdan Stanca. The group comprises three business units, including its meat processing branches Aaylex Prod and Avicola Buzau, and Aaylex Distribution.

Poultry production to rise​

On a related note, Romania’s poultry meat production is expected to expand by 5% in 2016, with last year’s value-added tax (VAT) cut and the increases in minimum wage and public sector employees considered as the main driving forces behind the rising demand in the local market.

According to data obtained by the Association of Poultry Meat Producers of Romania (APCR), the top ten players are responsible for as much as 60% of the country’s poultry meat production. Owing to last year’s increase in demand, most of the companies increased sales in 2015, and are eyeing higher sales for 2016, reports local business magazine Progresiv​.

Since 2012, Romania’s poultry meat production increased by about 30.2%, according to figures released by the APCR. Last year, the top ten poultry meat processors sold a total of 277,252t, an increase of 8.7% compared with the 255,160t sold a year earlier.