During the next four years, Grup Şerban Holding will invest EUR62.5m in two large projects that have been approved for financing by the Agenţia pentru Finanțarea Investițiilor Rurale (AFIR). The programs aim to provide the ideal synergy between the industrialization, processing, and cultivation of the products obtained from their harvest and beyond by processing and storing potatoes.

Frozen French Fries and Potato Flakes Processing Line

The installation of a robotic processing line for frozen fried potatoes and potato flakes in the town of Sascut, county Bacău, is the focus of the project named Potato Processing Factory, which was submitted through the ‘InvestAlim’ National Investment Program on December 24, 2023, and was approved for funding on September 24, 2024.

“Companies that stop expanding die sooner or later. Looking to the future, GSH’s next goal in terms of projects is developing an industry poorly represented in Romania: potato processing for the production of frozen fries and potato flakes,” Nicolae Șerban, founder of the Șerban Holding Group, mentioned.

With a capacity of 6 tons per hour for fried potatoes and 1.2 tons per hour for potato flakes, the line will be the biggest potato processing line in Romania with capital from Romania. Production will be aimed at both the domestic and foreign markets. The mill will be able to produce 6,000 tons of potato flakes and 30,000 tons of French fries annually.

Additionally, Grup Şerban Holding is putting the Sustainable Social Ecosystem system into practice, a ground-breaking idea in Romania that will draw in and instruct local farmers. The company intends to disseminate its expertise in agribusiness and encourage farmers to investigate novel prospects in sectors including vegetable cultivation.

“Through this initiative, we will amplify the impact of our business model and contribute to reducing the carbon footprint by using efficient and sustainable agricultural technologies, working together for a cleaner environment and greener agriculture,” the founder of Grup Șerban Holding added.

The two projects are synergistic: the processing plant will also use vegetables from local farmers supported through the Sustainable Social Ecosystem program. Thus, the company supports the local economy and develops sustainable agriculture, reducing the carbon footprint.

“The fact that we use potatoes from our production, as well as potatoes from the production of local farmers, is a major advantage, giving us the ability to control quality throughout the production chain and provide high-quality products,” Șerban declared.

InvestAlim project details: – annual production capacity: 30,000 tons of French fries and 6,000 tons of potato flakes; total value of the investment: EUR47.2m; state funds, non-refundable – EUR28.3m; location – Sascut Commune, Bacău County.

The Şerban Holding Group reaffirms its commitment to sustainable growth, an objective that has been the basis of all the company’s investments. Starting in 2019, Grup Șerban implemented the first irrigation projects, and then, in 2021, to take an important step in the agricultural sector, to switch to the cultivation of vegetables in large irrigated areas. This is part of the multi-annual strategic plan for the sustainable development of society, which takes into account future socio-economic and bio-climatic developments.

From the very beginning, Grup Şerban Holding understood the importance of an integrated chain in agriculture and the need for each new line of business to be taken to the final product, which closes the production cycle and ensures a high added value. Thus, the next natural step after the cultivation of vegetables was the creation of cold storage capacities, to maximize profitability and guarantee the quality of the products until commercialization. Starting in 2023, the company initiated the construction of cold storages for vegetables.

Potato Storage and Processing Warehouses

Grup Șerban Holding was declared eligible for a second major project for the storage and processing of potatoes and financed by the measure DR 22 – Investments in the conditioning, storage, and processing of agricultural and fruit products.

The project includes the construction of five cold stores, each with a capacity of 6,000 tons, for a total capacity of 30,000 tons. The project also provides a logistics warehouse of 5,000 square meters and a line for sorting, washing, and packaging potatoes, with a capacity of 10 tons per hour of finished product.

By the end of 2024, Grup Șerban Holding will consolidate its position on the market as the main refrigerated warehouse in Romania, with a capacity of 21,500 tons. After the completion of the project, the group will have a total capacity of 51,500 tons of cold storage.

Project details: total warehouse capacity: 30,000 tons; – logistics warehouse: 5,000 square meters; – sorting and packing line capacity: 10 tons per hour; total value of the project – EUR15.3m; state funds, non-refundable – EUR9.99m.

This project will support Grup Şerban’s ability to store, sort, and prepare potatoes for processing and distribution, facilitating efficient production management in its facilities.

“Through the two projects – the potato processing factory and the storage and processing warehouses – we complete the cycle initiated by Grup Șerban Holding in recent years. These investments, made through the national ‘InvestAlim’ project and with the support of European funds through AFIR, close the circle of our chain of production: from harvesting to processing, storage, and delivery. Thus, we obtain complete control of the process, ensuring constant quality and superior efficiency,” Irina Şerban, co-founder of Grup Şerban Holding, mentioned.