Campofrio ups promotional spending

Campofrio, one of the major players on the local charcuterie market, invested approximately 5 million euros (rate-card) last year in promotional activities, up 40% on 2005.
“We will invest 25% more in promotional campaigns this year, compared with 2006,” said Ovidiu Wencz, general manager of Tabco-Campofrio. Although the company estimated turnover worth 40 million euros for 2006, it derived only 35 million euros last year, up 10% compared with 2005, according to the company’s official. “The turnover reported last year was behind our estimates because we changed the company’s strategy during the year. We opted for higher profitability rather than an increased market share,” said Wencz.
In 2007 and 2008, the company will invest 15m euros in the construction of a new plant.
“The investments will be financed both from the parent-company, as well as from our own sources,” said the company’s general manager.
Campofrio is currently manufacturing some 14,000 tonnes of meat products per year at its Tulcea-based plant. The company’s second plant, that will be located outside Bucharest, close to Buftea, will cover a surface area of 8,000 square metres and will have a production capacity of 22,000 tonnes per year or, on average, 100 tonnes per day.
Following the shutdown of several medium and small companies operating in the meat industry, the major players began to boost their production capacities to cover the need of the market and to increase their current market share.
The Aldis company, owned by the Naghi family, last year boosted the production capacity of its Calarasi-based factory to 100 tonnes per day, compared with the capacity of 80 tonnes per day reported in 2005.
Angst, another major player on the market of processed meat products, owns a factory in Buftea with a total production capacity of 100 tonnes per day.