Orkla Foods Romania (OFR), local branch of Norwegian group Orkla Foods, will relocate its production of jams, tomato sauces and paste, marmalades and fruit spreads, to Covasna from Targoviste, to increase productivity and operational efficiency. OFR management announced in 2006 its intention to reorganize the production in Romania, where it owns industrial platforms in Bucharest, Craiova, Covasna, Targoviste and Iasi. The company invested some €25 million in these platforms over the past four years, according to market estimates.
The funds were used for the acquisition of three companies, fruit-vegetable processing equipment, and investments in the Ardealul and Royal Brinkers food companies.
Domestic canned fruit production barely exceeds 12,000 tons. Fruit compotes have a market share of some 70 percent, while the remainder is jams and marmalades.
“This year’s reorganization activity targets factories in Covasna and Targoviste. We are
carrying out production in Targoviste in a rented factory, and investments in standardizing and certification are not justified in a space which is not one of the company’s asset,” Aliz Kosza, CEO Orkla Foods Romania, said for Business Standard. Kosza mentioned that investments have been made in a new building in Covasna, to which all the equipment from Targoviste will be transferred by the end of the year. At the same time, OFR revised the product portfolio, giving up less popular brands and promoting new ones.
