La Lorraine Romania, one of the largest bakery and pastry factory in the country, celebrated 10 years of activity at a time marked by new expansion plans with regards to both the production capacity and the team. The event took place on Thursday, November 11, in Campia Turzii, with the participation of the Belgian Embassy delegation in Romania, led by His Excellency Philippe Benoit, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Romania and the Republic of Moldova and representatives of the local and county administrative authorities. During the 10 years of activity, La Lorraine Romania, part of La Lorraine Bakery Group Belgium, has become one of the largest flour processors in Romania and one of the most modern and efficient bakery units in Europe. Using 95% Romanian ingredients and state-of-the-art equipment, the factory in Câmpia Turzii is an important production centre for the group, ensuring the export to South-Eastern Europe and a part of Central Europe. “We celebrate 10 years of activity in a very good moment of La Lorraine history in Romania. Although the entire bakery industry was characterized by high volatility for almost two pandemic years, for more than half a year now we are happy to see the steep return of demand both for the Romanian market and for export, hence the expansion plans for the near future. During these 10 years, we have made every effort to achieve the best quality in our products, together with reliable partners, suppliers and retailers and to bring innovations in our product categories, bread and pastry.”, says Razvan Bosomoiu, General Manager of La Lorrraine Romania. The evolution has been a spectacular one, since 2011, when the factory started production with a single line, an annual production capacity of 11,000 tons and 11 employees, reaching a production capacity of 56,000 tons with its four bread lines and one pastry line in 2021. The team currently consists of 300 employees, the company being in a continuous recruitment process. In terms of investments, they have reached EUR 70 million since the company was established; over the next two years, a new EUR 70 million investment will be allocated to the construction of three new production lines. With this new expansion, the production capacity will increase by almost 100%, reaching 90,000 tons per year, products intended for both the domestic and export markets. Philippe Benoit, Ambassador of Belgium, congratulated La Lorraine Romania with their anniversary: “In ten years, La Lorraine Romania has steadily grown its business, employing more people in Câmpia Turzii and diversifying its range of products for the Romanian market and beyond. Congratulations and la mul?i ani!” “I found here people who are extremely dedicated and passionate about the bakery field. Along with the state-of-the-art factory technologies, the team is very important for the success of our business and this is the reason we constantly invest in training people so that they fully understand the specifics of our products. The factory in Campia Turzii currently produces the best quality bread and pastry products, reaching the tables of our customers in Romania and in many European countries”, said Kris Geeraert, COO of La Lorraine Bakery Group. The event, organized in a small setting, was also attended by the Mayor of Câmpia Turzii, Dorin Lojigan, who stated that “La Lorraine is an example of good commercial and managerial practices and a guarantee of the fact that success is possible. Over these 10 years, the development and prosperity of the La Lorraine factory has brought more stability in the area, a significant employment opportunity and, equally important, it has brought prestige to our city and community through the quality products.” “We appreciate the fact that the investment made by La Lorraine in Câmpia Turzii for the bread and pastry production is one of the largest ever made in Romania, benefiting from top notch technologies. We would like to outline that La Lorraine bread and pastry products represent a high added value offer, both on the local and export markets. The success in sending finished products to other countries, La Lorraine is helping the Romanian economy to tilt the balance in the overall processed good/raw materials export mix.” said Aurel Popescu, President of ROMPAN. (Photo:https://www.facebook.com/BEEmbassyBucharest/photos/pcb.4217788381666311/4217780231667126)