Irish food and nutrition company Kerry Group has announced that it has opened its first plant in Moscow.
The new production and warehouse complex in the Russian capital is over 7,000 square metres big, and employs over 50 people.
The new complex, which has begun production “immediately”, will produce 26,000 tonnes of products per annum.
Kerry In Russia
The facility was opened by Andrei Razin, agriculture minister for the Moscow region, and Kerry Group chief executive Edmond Scanlon.
"Kerry has had a presence in Russia since 2006, and I am delighted to be here today to officially open its first production facility,” Razin said.
"For us, it demonstrates the company's commitment to our great country and Kerry's desire to continue to develop and grow its business in Russia."
"Over the years, our business here has gone from strength to strength and as the Russian food industry has developed and expanded, so have we and so has our customer base,” Kerry Group’s Scanlon added.
"This facility means we can now deliver an even better service and get closer to our customers in this part of the world, while offering locally produced goods, using locally sourced raw materials."
Products from this new facility will supply Kerry customers in the Russian market from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, as well as the countries of the Customs Union and the CIS: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan and beyond.
Olivier Picard, Managing Director, Kerry Russia said "We believe in the development of the Russian market - the volume of retail trade in the country, according to forecasters, will increase by 6.8% by 2020 and we believe we can play a part in this and in the growth of foodservice.
"Additionally, the Russian Federation is the main gateway to the countries of the customs union and the CIS, areas we also see providing future growth potential.”
Kerry Group first established a presence in Russia in 2006. In 2014, the Kerry Regional Centre for Technology and Innovation opened in Moscow.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
