Cherkizovo Group and Grupo Fuertes open joint venture facility in Tambov, Russia

Meat and feed producer Cherkizovo Group and Grupo Fuertes have opened a joint venture turkey meat facility in Tambov, Russia.

The new plant will enable Cherkizovo Group to become one of the largest processors of turkey meat in Russia, as well as allow Grupo Fuertes to test its business localisation model in the country.

Spanish agricultural producer Grupo Fuertes president Tomás Fuertes said: "This is our first joint project venture with Cherkizovo Group and the first project in Russia.

“Cherkizovo Group is the leader in the meat industry in Russia, the company with the most advanced equipment, technology and an uncompromising approach to quality.

“Years of cooperation have demonstrated that we were not mistaken in choosing this business partner for creating a unique enterprise in Russia, a facility which controls the product quality at all stages of production."

The new production plant features advanced equipment and water treatment facilities.

It also includes four growth sites, nine finisher sites, a feed mill with an installed capacity of 180,000t a year, an incubator that can accommodate nearly 5.6 million eggs on an annual basis, as well as an elevator with a storage capacity of 90,000t.

The facility currently employs nearly 850 local people.

Cherkizovo Group general director Sergey Mikhailov said: "It took us five years and RUR10.2bn ($180m) to launch this project.

“Today, the enterprise has reached its full installed capacity and the payback period is eight years. Turkey meat has great potential on the Russian market and total turkey meat production in Russia was about 230,000t in 2016.

“Tambov Turkey added another 50,000t today and can double the install capacity up to 100,000t. This is a serious step on the way to Russian food security, and towards developing its export opportunities over the long run."

The business model used for this new plant enables the company to comprehensively control the production process, ranging from the usage of the raw materials for producing its mixed feeds to the sale of the finished products.

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Image: The facility will process turkey meat. Photo: courtesy of khumthong via freedigitalphotos.net.