The Swiss company Schoeni is investing €1.5 million in the construction of a 2,000 m2 plant for processing fruit and vegetables in Ștefan Vodă district. Schoeni registered His East SRL in ZELB (Ștefan Vodă subzone). At the initial stage, the fully automated enterprise will create 30 jobs. The average salary will be 12,000 lei. Under the business plan of the enterprise, the volume of production will amount to 18 million lei ($1 million) in the first year, IPN reports.
In the future, Schoeni plans to expand production volumes and production areas up to 10,000 m2 with a corresponding increase in investments and jobs. Being a resident of the Bălti Free Economic Zone (ZELB), the company will export all manufactured products, first of all to Switzerland and European Union countries.
Marin Ciobanu, ZELB Administrator, said the uniqueness of the new ZELB resident lies not only in the fact that it is the first company from Switzerland, but also in the fact that it is an investor engaged in a completely new industry - agricultural products processing. “This means that agricultural producers from southern Moldova will have a reliable buyer and confidence that their products would be sold and their production would expand. Such projects contribute to the development of parallel investments, when a chain of local contractors is created around a foreign investor; they contribute to the creation of new businesses and consolidation of the existing ones,” he stated.
Vitalie Pintilie, His East SRL Administrator, noted that for the first time in its century-old history, Schoeni Food has decided to develop the manufacture of vegetable and fruit products outside Switzerland. “And we are glad that they chose Moldova. Undoubtedly, the success of the project in Ștefan Vodă will become a gateway for new investors from Switzerland, which will allow providing decent jobs for the residents of Moldova, while strengthening the country’s economy and raising the standard of living,” he said.
Currently, work to create engineering networks in the Ștefan Vodă subzone of ZELB is underway. The site for the construction of a plant is being prepared. The plant is scheduled to start operation the next growing season in May-June 2022. The enterprise will start to process vegetables (cabbage, beets, carrots, potatoes, onions), as well as berries (raspberries, strawberries) and fruit (apples, pears). Both frozen semi-finished products and finished products will be made. In particular, the enterprise will produce berry and fruit puree according to Schoeni Food recipes, as it is in great demand among consumers in Switzerland and the European Union.
Schoeni is a large Swiss holding with over 1,000 employees in Switzerland, Italy and Slovakia. Schoeni Food began operations in 1920 in Switzerland with the production of sauerkraut on an industrial scale. The company is a pioneer in the field of organic production, constantly expanding its range. Schoeni is recognized as a “national quality brand” and its products can be found on the shelves of all stores in Switzerland. In 2020, Schoeni Food launched a new series of products dedicated to its 100th anniversary.
Since 1969, the company has started developing the transport and logistics business - Schoeni Transport AG. It has become the largest operator in the markets of Switzerland and Italy with thousands of transport fleets designed to transport all types of goods - from logging to refrigerators - with large logistics centers and hubs. Schoeni Transport AG actively contributes to environmental protection by purchasing LPG trucks and vehicles running on 100% biodiesel fuel. In 2021, the operator purchased the first hydrogen fuel cell truck.
The Bălti Free Economic Zone was established in March 2010. During 11 years of activity, 78 residents have been registered in the zone and their total investment exceeds $222 million. During this period of time, 11,600 jobs were created, with an average salary of 8,600 lei.
The volume of industrial production is currently 6.9 billion lei per year, total sales - 7.1 billion lei per year. There are 19 sub-zones in ZELB, three in Bălti, and the rest are all over the country.
