Grup Șerban Holding, one of Romania’s leading agro-food companies, announced plans to invest €62.5 million over the next four years to strengthen its processing and cold storage capabilities for potatoes and vegetables.
The investment will be made through two major projects approved for funding by the Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR). The first project, submitted under the national InvestAlim Program, involves the establishment of a robotized processing line for frozen French fries and potato flakes in the commune of Sascut, Bacău County. The initiative, officially approved for funding on 24 September 2024, marks a key step in Romania’s underdeveloped potato processing sector.
“Companies that stop expanding die sooner or later. Looking ahead, our next objective is to develop an industry that is weakly represented in Romania: the processing of potatoes for the production of frozen French fries and potato flakes,” said Nicolae Șerban, founder of Grup Șerban Holding.
According to the company, the plant will be the largest potato processing facility in Romania financed with domestic capital, featuring a production capacity of 6 tonnes per hour of French fries and 1.2 tonnes per hour of potato flakes. The annual output is projected at 30,000 tonnes of French fries and 6,000 tonnes of flakes, with production aimed at both local and international markets. The total investment for the processing plant amounts to €47.2 million, of which €28.3 million represents non-reimbursable state aid.
Sustainable Development And Local Integration
Alongside the processing line, Grup Șerban Holding is implementing the Sustainable Social Ecosystem, described as a revolutionary concept in Romania designed to engage and educate local farmers. The initiative aims to share agribusiness know-how and promote new opportunities in fields such as horticulture, livestock, and egg production.
“Through this initiative, we will amplify the impact of our business model and help reduce the carbon footprint by using efficient and sustainable agricultural technologies, working together for a cleaner environment and greener agriculture,” said Șerban.
The two projects are designed to be mutually reinforcing: the new factory will also process vegetables grown by local farmers participating in the Sustainable Social Ecosystem program. “The fact that we use potatoes from our own production as well as from local farmers is a major advantage, allowing us to control quality throughout the production chain and deliver high-quality products,” Șerban added.
A Continuation Of Grup Șerban’s Integrated Growth Strategy
The company’s new investments continue its strategy of vertical integration across Romania’s agro-food value chain. Since 2019, Grup Șerban has developed irrigation projects and, by 2021, expanded into large-scale vegetable cultivation on irrigated land. The company also began constructing refrigerated warehouses for vegetables in 2023, aiming to preserve quality and extend product shelf life until commercialization.
Grup Șerban Holding emphasizes that these initiatives align with its multi-annual strategic plan for sustainable development, which considers future socio-economic and bioclimatic changes.
“From the very beginning, we understood the importance of an integrated agricultural chain and the need for each business line to reach the final product, closing the production cycle and ensuring high added value,” Șerban noted.