Aviko BV, a Royal Cosun-owned potato processing company headquartered in the Netherlands, has announced that it will terminate operations at its Amberger plant in southern Germany. The Oberdolling facility, which will close before the end of this year, produces local potato specialties such as Knödel, Garkartoffeln and Kartoffelsalat that are sold primarily on the Bavarian foodservice market.
The factory, acquired from the Amberger family by Aviko in January of 2014, has reportedly been running at a loss for some time. Despite “a raft of initiatives taken” to improve results, Royal Cosun has concluded that there is little prospect for improvement.
The shutdown will see some 150 people lose their jobs in Oberdolling. Some workers will be offered alternative employment at the Aviko factory in Rain am Lech, which is also in Bavaria.
Ranked as the fourth largest value-added potato products company in the world, Aviko annually processes approximately 1,700,000 tons of spuds at plants in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Sweden and China. In addition to french fries, wedges, gratins and other potato-based items, it offers a variety of frozen appetizers including onion rings, mozzarella fingers, chili cheddar cheese nuggets and jalapeño snacks. Its customer base consists of retailers and industrial accounts as well as foodservice operators.
