Délifrance has inaugurated a fourth frozen viennoiserie production line at its Romans-sur-Isère factory to increase annual output by 25,000 tons, or 1.5 million croissants, pains aux raisins, pains aux chocolats, and filled croissants with or without topping per day. This augments the site’s previous capacity of 50,000 tons per annum.
Company executives and invited guests gather to cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new production line at Délifrance’s frozen viennoiserie factory in Romans-sur-Isère.The 8,000-square-meter project took 450 people and 82 partners 10 months to complete construction of the “spread out” line with space between machines and optimized ergonomics. As a result, the VIVESCIA Group company is much better positioned to meet fast-growing demand for French-style pastry and other baked goods across global markets.
“With the new line, the Romans facility is unique in terms of its size, production capacity, flexibility, adaptability, and the know-how of current and future teams,” said Délifrance CEO Ian Dobbie. “We can be competitive and confidently develop premium products for international markets.”
Plant Manager Arnaud Carré added, “By consolidating our role as a center of excellence in manufacturing, we are also helping to boost the regional economy. Sixty percent of the companies that worked on the construction site were local, and 70 people have already been recruited to enlarge our workforce to 360 people.”
The viennoiserie market has been expanding for more than a decade, and if the trend continues as expected there will be average gains of 5% a year posted in Europe for the foreseeable future. Growth is pegged at around 4% for frozen ready-to-bake goods and as high as 6% for frozen fully baked products. Asia and North America are the two regions with the strongest growth.
An ergonomic, high-tech, versatile, and environmentally virtuous production line allows for quick changeover time to shift from one format to another. Fitted with energy-efficient electric motors, the plant boasts energy recovery systems and heat pumps.
About Délifrance
With 3,400 employees and revenue of €760 million for the year ending June 30, 2018 – 80% of which was generated outside of France – Délifrance is one of Europe’s leading frozen baked goods manufacturers. In business for more than three decades, the company was founded by Grand Moulins de Paris in 1983. Today it supplies products to foodservice operators, retailers and artisan bakers in more than 100 countries.
About VIVESCIA
VIVESCIA is an international, cooperative farming and food processing organization that employs 7,500 people in 24 countries, generating annual revenue of €3.2 billion. Specializing in sustainably producing and adding value to grain through creative food applications, the group is owned by 11,000 farmers from northeastern France.
One of every 10 croissants consumed in Europe is produced by VIVESCIA, and one in 10 beers worldwide is made with its malt. Francine, the leading flour brand on the French market, is an integral part of the cooking experience for millions of families. Meanwhile, every day around the world thousands of consumers eat sweet and savory snacks at 350 Délifrance restaurants.
