- EUR 47m to modernise and expand Maspex Group – a leading food and drink producer in Central and South-Eastern Europe
- New investment focused on less developed regions in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria
- Innovation and energy saving through construction of two new water treatment plants
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide EUR 47m to support the expansion, upgrading and modernisation of Maspex Group's food and drinks production and storage facilities. Factories in Łowicz, Lublin, Tychy, and Olsztynek (Poland), Valenii de Munte, Giurgiu and Vatra Dornei (Romania), and Velingrad (Bulgaria) will benefit from the new investment.
The new support follows successful cooperation between the EIB bank and Maspex Group in Poland. In 2016 the EIB provided a EUR 60m loan to upgrade and modernise food and drinks production, logistics and storage facilities.
“New investment in the food sector is crucial to continually enhance products and improve manufacturing. The EIB is pleased to support new investment by Maspex Group across the region that will strengthen employment and economic activity across three countries”, said EIB Vice-President Andrew McDowell.
European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu said: “With this agreement, the Juncker Plan demonstrates once again its ability to bring more cohesion within our Union. With this EUR 47m loan to support the modernisation of Maspex’s production, the EU is investing in regions that need to catch up, helping them to create jobs and grow.”
Rafał Gruszeczka, CFO of Maspex Group stated: “Maspex Group continues its programme of strategic investments in Poland (our home market) as well as in Bulgaria and Romania (our second-biggest market). The new EIB financing will cover investments in 2018-2021 in Łowicz, Lublin, Tychy and Olsztynek, in three locations in Romania (plants in Valenii de Munte, Vatra Dornei and Giurgiu) and one location in Bulgaria (Velingrad). All these projects enable us to develop our production facilities and implement technologically advanced logistics solutions, which will help us to increase our storage capacity. We are very glad that cooperation with the EIB enables us to improve our competitiveness. Thanks to the EIB financing, our company can meet the expectations of the various European markets better and more precisely.”
The agreement is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the "Juncker Plan". In this framework, the EU bank and the European Commission cooperate to increase the EIB’s risk-bearing capacity and thus improve its product offer and enhance the impact that the initiative can achieve.