The company, which specialises in the production of frozen vegetables and solutions and is a subsidiary of the French cooperative group Eureden (formerly Triskalia), is planning to build a new freezing chamber and incorporate a freezing tunnel at its production centre in the Comunidad Foral, where it currently employs more than 400 people. Work will begin in the next few weeks and the new facilities are expected to be up and running before the end of 2025. Gelagri Ibérica also has another plant in Santaella (Córdoba).
This investment adds to an expansion strategy that the company has been developing in Spain since 2019, when it initiated a plan valued at 20 million euros. By 2021, Gelagri had already executed half of this budget, focusing on the acquisition of new land in Milagro and the expansion of electrical, refrigeration and packaging infrastructures. These improvements increased packaging capacity by 30 % and storage capacity by 125 %.
On the other hand, between its two plants in Spain, Gelagri manufactures and stores a wide range of frozen products, mostly for retail brands, with an annual production capacity of 110,000 tonnes. During the 2023/2024 financial year, which ended on 30 June, the company achieved a sales volume of 101,000 tonnes, 3% more than in the previous financial year, when 98,000 tonnes were recorded. This record exceeded initial expectations. In economic terms, the company also experienced notable growth, reaching a turnover of 134.9 million euros, 14% more than the 118 million for the 2022/2023 financial year.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR
The agri-food industry is one of the main engines for the creation of wealth and employment in the Autonomous Community of Navarre. Specifically, its productive fabric has an annual turnover of over 4,500 million euros, of which 1,129 million euros come from the activity generated by the primary sector. Furthermore, agri-food represents the second largest area of the Navarrese economy, accounting for 5% of total regional GDP and 14% of industrial GDP.
Navarrese companies cover the entire value chain from the primary sector to the agri-food industry, including the two most important producers of frozen vegetables in Spain (Ultracongelados Virto and Congelados de Navarra), the largest cooperative cereal group (AN Group) or the leading company in Spain in salads and ready-made fresh vegetables (Florette) as well as leading multinationals such as General Mills, Gelagri, Mondelez or Agrozumos. More information on the following link.
Source: Diario de Navarra