Damate opened the largest turkey deep processing plant in Europe

15.07.2021
Turkey production

Damate Group has launched the largest turkey  deep processing plant in Europe with a capacity of 303 tons per day. The plant is located in the Nizhnelomov district of Penza region.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, Acting Governor of Penza Region Oleg Melnichenko, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank JSC) Boris Listov and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Damate Naum Babaev.

The plant was built within the framework of a partnership agreement between the Government of Penza Region, Damate Group and Rosselkhozbank JSC. The amount of investments in new production is to 9 billion rubles.

According to Dmitry Patrushev, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia pays great attention to the development of poultry farming and meat processing, constantly improving the system of state support. The Minister noted the positive experience of Penza region in the implementation of regional mechanisms, which, together with federal measures, creates the foundation for the sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex. “At present, the subject firmly occupies a leading position in the Russian poultry industry. Almost half of all turkey in the country is produced here. I am sure that due to the high quality, the products of the new plant will appeal not only to Russian, but also to foreign buyers,” the head of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture emphasized.

The plant has 5 workshops: a workshop for the production of ham and sous vide products, a workshop for the production of boiled sausages, a workshop for the production of dry-cured sausages, a workshop for ready-to-eat semi-finished products and one of the main advantages of the plant is a robotic semi-finished products warehouse.

“Development of poultry farming and processing is one of the leading directions of the agricultural sector of Penza region. And here our reliable partner is Damate Group. The presence of such a powerful investor gave a new impetus to the development of not only the agro-industrial complex, but also the economy of Penza region as a whole. The launch of a new facility means several hundred jobs, additional tax revenues to the budget, modernization of the utility lines, high-tech infrastructure facilities. For residents of Nizhnelomov district, this is an important factor of development and prospects,” said Oleg Melnichenko.

This is the first in the food industry in Russia, a unique automated solution for storing, picking and shipping to customers.

“Turkey products are in high demand due to the growing interest in healthy eating. Since 2012, the consumption of turkey in Russia has been growing at an average annual rate of 16%, and in 2020 it amounted to about 330 thousand tons, that is more than 2 kg per person. With the support of Rosselkhozbank, Damate played a key role in the actual formation of the market. I am glad that our long-standing and reliable partner continues to develop its projects along the path of widespread introduction of information technologies and artificial intelligence - this is what the agro-industrial complex of the 21st century should be like” said Boris Listov.

The new plant is an example of the competent implementation of modern technologies in the field of automation and robotization of processes in the food industry. The most advanced advanced solutions are used here. More than 500 pieces of equipment have been installed in 5 workshops, 13 automated production lines are operation, among which the only line in the country for frying ham followed by slicing and a line for the production of dry-cured sausages, as well as a robotic line for minced meat production and others.

“The high degree of automation and robotization of processes, the use of exclusively 100% turkey meat in the production, a wide range of products of the highest quality - these are the undeniable competitive advantages of the new plant. The production capacity of the enterprise will allow us not only to meet the growing demand for turkey sausage products within the country, but also to significantly increase the export potential by expanding sales of high-margin products of deep processing,” said Naum Babayev.

The range of manufactured products includes about 100 SKUs. All products are made from 100% turkey meat, these are dry-cured sausages, hams, boiled sausages and sausage products, sous-vide culinary products, as well as ready-to-eat semi-finished products.

It is planned that deeply processed products will be sold through federal distribution throughout the country. The company has already started exporting sausage products abroad; Armenia and Uzbekistan are among the first buyers. In the nearest future Damate plans to expand the geography of supplies to the countries of near and far abroad. Currently, applications are being considered and negotiations with customers are underway.

As a result of the implementation of the project, 700 jobs were created at the plant.