Did you know that Belgium also excels in making tortilla chips and wraps? Last week, the first stone was officially laid in Roeselare for Poco Loco's new, CO2-neutral production facility for tortillas. The new factory creates jobs for more than 50 new employees, mainly operators, technicians, team leaders and warehouse staff. In addition, there are about 50 vacancies to support the growth in other departments. Poco Loco promises its new Food Heroes a thorough training.
CO2-neutral start
The new tortilla factory will be built on the existing site, next to the red and white striped high-risewarehouse. Rolf Ladau, CEO of Paulig: "The production site in Roeselare is already the largest within the international Paulig family business. And with this EUR 45 million investment, we continue to invest in further growth".
Thomas Panteli, SVP Supply Chain & Sourcing Paulig adds: "The new factory in Roeselare will be CO2-neutral from the start. With the new production lines, we are strongly committed to energy efficiency, so that we can produce larger volumes using less energy. The location of the factory also plays an important role. There will be a second bridge to connect the new factory with the high-rise warehouse, thus avoiding a lot of road transport."
Tex Mex, a growing market
Over the years, the production of tortilla chips and wraps in Roeselare has continued to grow: "With the new tortilla factory, we want to strengthen our position as market leader in Tex Mex, not only by expanding the production capacity, but also by focusing on product innovations. Just like the existing production sites in Roeselare, the new factory will produce Poco Loco, Santa Maria as well as private label products", says Arnauld Demoulin, SVP Business Area Customer Brands at Paulig. Today, Poco Loco has 29 production lines and more than 700 employees.
Room for 100 new Food Heroes
For the new factory, and due to the growth in other departments, there are about a hundred vacancies in total. The company is mainly looking for operators, technicians, team leaders and warehouse staff. The current situation of the job market in the region is obviously a challenge.
Arnauld Demoulin: "As a growing company with a strong focus on well-being at work and safety, we have a lot of assets. We always want to find the right match between the candidate, the job and the team. This means that candidates with little or no experience in a production environment, but with the right attitude and skills are also given a chance. We also put a lot of emphasis on thorough training at the workplace. That is why recruitment for the new production facility, which is expected to be operational in the spring of 2022, is already starting now."