Pfanner may expand to Romania

Pfanner, the Austrian-based natural juice maker, is considering the expansion of its production capacities in Europe and, provided the consumption level of these products rises in Romania, our country is likely to be included in Pfanner’s expansion plans in three or four years’ time, Peter Pfanner, the company’s general manager, told Ziarul Financiar.

“The building of a new production unit would mean an investment of at least 15 million dollars. Such an investment is not justified in Romania yet, as these products are scarcely consumed.

A Romanian drinks an average of 2 litres of natural juice every year, which is 10 times lower than in the Czech Republic and 20 times lower than in Austria,” Pfanner explained.

The low consumption is mainly due to the population’s low purchasing power and its penchant for carbonated drinks.

“The total volume of natural juice sales stands at 50 million litres per year. This entire amount can be produced in one month in Austria. People in the West are more interested to know if their food is also healthy. It is about the consumer’s education, which we will try to create here,” Pfanner said.

Pfanner has a 40-year history in Romania, since the company started to buy fruits from this region. “We bought apples, cherries and berries worth DM10 million from Romania last year, while the juice sales in Romania were worth only DM3 million,” Pfanner says.

Last year, the company registered DM250 million in turnover, up 20% against the previous year. The company’s officials estimate sales worth DM280 million this year.

Pfanner has five plants: three are located in Austria, while the other two are based in Germany and Ukraine. The company’s more than 120 products are distributed in about 60 countries.

The story of this family business, now at its fifth generation, began 150 years ago, and they initially planned to make beer. Later on, they started producing wine, an occupation that was preserved. The production of natural juices started in 1919.