New resident of Balti FEZ, Swiss company Schoeni, is investing 1.5 million euros in the construction of a vegetable and fruit processing plant in Stefan Voda district.
This was reported by the press service of the Balti FEZ (ZELB), drawing attention to the fact that this is the ZELB first resident from Switzerland, while the company will invest in a completely new industry - the processing of agricultural products. Schoeni registered His East SRL in ZELB (Stefan Voda subzone). The area of the plant being built in the Stefan-Voda region will be 2,000 sqare meters. At the initial stage, the fully automated enterprise will create 30 jobs. The average salary will be 12 thousand lei. The business plan of the enterprise assumes that in the first year the volume of production will amount to 18 million lei ($1 million). In the future, the company plans to expand production volumes and production areas up to 10 thousand square meters with a corresponding increase in investment and jobs. Being a resident of Balti FEZ, the company will export all manufactured products, first of all, to Switzerland and the countries of the European Union. As the administrator of ZELB Marin Ciobanu noted, the uniqueness of the new ZELB resident lies not only in the fact that it is the first company from Switzerland, but also in the fact that it is an investor engaged in a completely new industry - agricultural products processing. This means that agricultural producers from the southern Moldova will have a reliable buyer and confidence in selling their products and expanding their production. Such projects contribute to the development of parallel investments, when a chain of local contractors is created around a foreign investor; they contribute to the creation of new businesses and the consolidation of the existing ones. In turn, the administrator of His East Vitalie Pintilie noted: “for the first time in its century-old history, Schoeni Food has decided to develop the production of vegetable and fruit products outside Switzerland. And we are glad that they chose Moldova. Undoubtedly, the success of the project in Ștefan Vodă will become a gateway for new investors from Switzerland, which will allow providing decent jobs for the residents of Moldova, while strengthening the country's economy and raising the standard of living.” Currently, in the Stefan Voda subzone, work is underway to create engineering networks; the site for the construction of a plant is being prepared. The plant is scheduled to start operation the next growing season in May-June 2022. The enterprise will start processing vegetables (cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, onions), as well as berries (raspberries, strawberries) and fruits (apples, pears). Both semi-finished frozen products and finished products will be produced. In particular, the enterprise will produce berry and fruit puree according to Schoeni Food recipes, as it is in great demand among consumers in Switzerland and the European Union. Schoeni is a large Swiss holding with over 1000 employees in Switzerland, Italy and Slovakia. Schoeni Food began operations in 1920 in Switzerland with the production of sauerkraut on an industrial scale. The company is a pioneer in the field of organic production, constantly expanding its range. Schoeni is recognized as a “national quality brand” and its products can be found on the shelves of all stores in Switzerland. In 2020, Schoeni Food launched a new series of products dedicated to its 100th anniversary. Since 1969, the company has started developing the transport and logistics business - Schoeni Transport AG. It has become the largest operator in the markets of Switzerland and Italy with thousands of transport fleets designed to transport all types of goods - from logging to refrigerators - with large logistics centers and hubs. ZELB was established in March 2010. For 11 years of activity, 78 residents have been registered in this zone, the total investment of which exceeds $222 million. During this time, 11,600 jobs were created with an average salary of 8600 lei. The volume of industrial production is currently 6.9 billion lei per year, total sales - 7.1 billion lei per year. ZELB includes 19 sub-zones, 3 in Balti, the rest - throughout the country. // 27.07.2021 – InfoMarket
