Animex considers options for new meat processing plant

Under the plan, the facility is to be fitted with a floorspace of some 100,000 square metres and located on a site of about 400,000sq m. Rawicz and Wągrowiec, located in Poland’s western region, are two of the locations being considered for the meat processing plant, according to the information obtained by local business daily Puls Biznesu.

“The company has held talks with land owners, inhabitants and municipal councillors. They have collected the necessary data, and now we are awaiting their decision,”​ said Mateusz Domagała, a spokesperson for the mayor of Rawicz.

Andrzej Pawelczak, a spokesperson for Animex Foods, said the company selected Rawicz “as one of the locations that the company is seriously considering as a potential location for its new investment”​.

However company representatives have said they were also considering to locate the planned investment in other municipalities in the country’s western Wielkopolska region, as well as other Polish regions. In addition to Poland, Animex is also debating locating the designed facility in Romania.

Should Animex Foods decide to open its new plant in Poland, it could benefit from the state aid that is available for investors in the country’s special economic zones. Rawicz is part of the Walbrzych special economic zone (WSEZ), while Wagrowiec is part of the Kostrzyn-Slubice special economic zone (KSEZ). Under Polish law, investors declare the minimum amount of jobs they plan to create at their designed factories, pledging to maintain them for a determined number of years, and the minimum amount they aim to invest and, in return, they benefit from preferential tax treatment for their investments, and are enabled to acquire state support.

The project is estimated to be worth up to €200 million. Animex posted annual revenues of about PLN4bn (€46.5m), of which between 25% and 30% were generated by export sales.

Animex Foods claims to be the largest Polish meat processing company specialising in pork and poultry meat products. The company operates eight plants in Poland, and employs a total workforce of 8,300 employees. In 1999, Animex was acquired by Smithfield Foods.

In addition to the Polish market, Animex sells its output to a number of export destinations. These include the EU member states, the US, Canada, Mexico, Panama, China, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia

The Polish company sells its output under the Krakus, Morliny, Berlinki, Morlinki, Mazury Elk and Yano brands. Some of its products include hams, sausages, frankfurters, nuggets, pates, and canned meat, according to data from Animex. The meat processor says its facilities are IFS- and BRC-certified.