“For us, the most important development of 2017 was the completion of the expansion and modernisation of our… facility in Szczecin-Dąbie. We are most proud of the implementation of the latest packaging technologies which opens new export opportunities for us,” Klaus Roppel, the chairman of the management board of Drobimex, told local news site Portalspozywczy.pl.
The company said it had seen a continuous increase in foreign demand for its products. Currently, the poultry meat business exports about 1,800 tonnes (t) of meat per month, according to Roppel.
Investment to expand facilities
Last year’s investment was carried out as part of a three-year spending plan. Drobimex allocated more than PLN200 million (€47.9m) to expand and upgrade two of the company’s facilities in Poland – the slaughterhouse in Szczecin-Dąbie and the processing plant in Goleniów.
“This was the largest investment in the company’s history, under which the facility in Szczecin-Dąbie was expanded, including a new hall fitted with… a new cutting line, cold storage facility, and a packaging and storage facility,” Roppel said. “At the facility in Goleniów, we [built] a new hall fitted with new cutting and packaging lines for processed meat products, and a storage facility. Following the expansion work, the surface area of the two facilities increased by more than 9,000 square metres.”
Goleniów is also located in north-west Poland, about 35km from the region’s largest city Szczecin.
Slaughter capacity to rise
Under the plan, this year, Drobimex is to boost its slaughter capacity.
“The company’s plan for 2018 is to raise its slaughter capacity to 1m head per week, and to ensure that we have sufficient sales of our products both domestically and abroad,” said Roppel.
The company’s product range includes hams, sausages, frankfurters, pâtés and ready meals, according to data from Drobimex.
The firm sells its products through a number of major retail chains, including Carrefour, Auchan, Selgros, Real, Netto, Lidl, Piotr i Paweł and Aldi. Drobimex is also a major supplier of poultry parts to US fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken in the Polish market.
In addition to the domestic market, Drobimex exports its products to the UK, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, and Azerbaijan. In total, exports to the European Union markets represent about 30% of the company’s total sales.
Set up in 1954, the Polish firm is based in Szczecin, some 500km north of the country’s capital Warsaw. Since 2002, Drobimex has been part of German poultry business PHW Group.
Drobimex’s facilities are BRC- and QS-certified, and enabled to produce halal meat, according to the company.