Reinert spends 15m euros on cold cuts plant

The general manager of the Reinert charcuterie producer, Ovidiu Bocaniciu, says that before starting production, the company needs to have functional partnerships in place with companies operating in the distribution, logistics, promotion and marketing sectors.
Reinert is the first foreign company that decided to carry out a greenfield investment in the meat-processing sector. The German producer has earmarked over 15 million euros for the construction of a cold cuts plant in Feldioara, near Brasov.
“We’ve concluded major partnerships in the key sectors of our business in Romania: distribution and logistics, promotion and marketing. It’s good for us to have functional partnerships before starting operations because this helps avoid the unknowns that could arise from a lack of communication,” states the general manager.
Bocaniciu says the company has decided to work with a foreign partner in the distribution and logistics fields.
“We’ve already signed a contract with Whiteland for distribution and we will benefit from their expertise in this field,” he specified. Bocaniciu also said two other contracts, with an advertising and a media company, had been signed lately.
Collaboration with Whiteland will secure nationwide distribution for the Germans, with the Romanian market being the main focus of the German company. “We will centre on everything that means retail, be it traditional or modern. “Even though the market is switching to key account international networks, traditional stores will not vanish,” Bocaniciu believes. “We want to be among the top five charcuterie producers in Romania and to reach a market share of 8-10% by 2009,” he says.
Reinert will produce traditional Romanian charcuterie, as well as German specialties, all under Reinert brand, in Brasov. The production capacity of the plant will stand at 12,000 tonnes per year.
“In 2009, if the market is sufficiently developed, we will double the production capacity. The plant has a modular construction, so that we may expand it as quickly as possible,” adds Bocaniciu.
Ovidiu Bocaniciu worked for 10 years with Coca-Cola (beginning in 1992). Half of this period was spent in Romania and the other half in the Republic of Moldova and Russia, filling top management positions.
Bocaniciu recounts Reinert had decided to invest in Romania as early as 2004, but did not manage to acquire land sooner than March 2005, and last autumn started building the plant.
“Greenfield investments allow one to create the technological flows one desires. Moreover, there’s no question about cultural differences, as in the case of any acquisition, which have to be adjusted as you go. It is easier to put together a new team,” says Bocaniciu.