Avicarvil is a leading poultry producer, processor and retailer in Romania with an annual farming and processing capacity of over 30 million chickens/year. The company plans to double this capacity in the years to come by building a greenfield processing plant in close collaboration with Marel. Andrei Brumaru, executive director of the overarching Carmistin Group, talks about the plans.
In Vâlcea County, Carmistin will build the most modern poultry processing plant in South-Eastern Europe. Covering an area of 25,000m2 [6.18 acres], it will be the largest chicken meat production unit in Romania and will have Marel as its main partner. Andrei Brumaru explains, “Given our sales forecasts, we need to expand. At the same time, we want to ensure our competitiveness against the international competition, producing more chicken of higher quality. For the best results and the best return on our investment, we decided to cooperate with Marel.”
“Our first contact with Marel dates from when we purchased our second processing plant in Targu Jiu. It features Marel systems in the primary process, from killing to chilling. For our future greenfield plant, we compared the efficiency of the lines in our two existing processing plants. Marel’s line was clearly superior. Marel was therefore our first choice to equip our third processing plant, which is projected to be functional by 2023. This factory will have a capacity of 13,500 bph [225 bpm] and we will work two shifts.”
Left to right: Octavian Paltanea (Carmistin), Andrei Brumaru (Carmistin), Cristian Ciornei (Riva srl), Arie Tulp (Marel), Harm ter Heerdt (Marel), Fons Romme (Marel), Oana Petre (Carmistin).
“Carmistin is a dynamic organization that always looks for partners who share the same vision and expertise. Marel fits in perfectly. Both companies combine quality equipment, professional people and transparent project management, resulting in a long-term partnership. Marel’s ability to cover all production sectors was one of the key factors that made us take this strategic decision,” says Andrei Brumaru. “The new factory will be South-East Europe’s most modern poultry processing facility. The advanced automation will make us the biggest protein producer in Romania in the next three years.” The automated processing lines include robotization with Marel’s RoboBatcher. “The RoboBatcher in the filleting line makes a big difference in the speed and accuracy of the line and ensures a good return on investment. By combining robotics and state-of-the-art software, RoboBatcher will optimize the processing time, quality and safety of our products. In addition, Innova software will supply real-time reports, helping us make timely decisions, reduce costs, and increase our competitiveness in this dynamic sector.”
Andrei Brumaru continues, “Our investments aim to mitigate climate change. We implement systems and technologies to optimize energy use and water consumption. Marel Water Treatment will build an innovative system for collecting, treating and reusing water, fully complying with the rules and regulations in force. The significant amount of water returning to the natural cycle will result in 80% less water consumption.”
Avicarvil’s end products are fresh and ready-to-cook whole chickens and chicken cuts, packed in trays, controlled atmosphere packaging or bags. The best-sellers are for whole chicken, thighs and breast fillets. “In addition to regular broilers, we have launched the Vegetarian Chicken, a yellow chicken fed with vegetables and corn, and the Organic Chicken. We are Romania’s first and only poultry processor with a bio certificate.” Avicarvil’s umbrella brand LaProvincia holds multiple other sub-brands such as Ground-raised Chicken, Antibiotic-free Chicken and Marinated Chicken.
In Avicarvil’s greenfield, the process will start with ATLAS, the most sustainable and humane live bird handling system in the industry. This is followed by Marel’s stunning, scalding, plucking and evisceration solutions, including the brand-new, revolutionary and intelligent Nuova-i eviscerator. The primary process is monitored real-time by IMPAQT software. Innova software also manages the rest of the factory. After combined in-line immersion chilling and DownFlow Plus air chilling, products are distributed according to data received from SmartWeigher and IRIS. Products to be cut up pass through one of the two ACM-NT lines. These are followed by three AMF-i breast deboners. Then five Multihead Weighers and a RoboBatcher are ready to batch and pack the products. Marel checkweighers and labelers finish the process. All logistics in the factory are handled by SystemFlex conveyors, while an elaborate Marel vacuum system takes care of offal transport.
For the best results and the best return on our investment we decided to cooperate with Marel.
Andrei Brumaru
Executive director of Carmistin Group
Carmistin is a vertically integrated organization, headquartered in Bucharest with three regional offices in Targu Jiu, Francesti and Mizil. Besides poultry, Carmistin is active in cattle, pig and crop production. The poultry sector represents 60% of Carmistin’s business and employs 70% of its 2,500 people. 51% of the employees are women and the average age is 35. The Avicarvil branch owns hatcheries, breeding farms, parent stock farms, laying hen farms, two processing plants, three logistic warehouses and a distribution fleet of 200 refrigerated vehicles. Apart from owning more than 40 stores, Carmistin supplies Romania’s most important retailers such as Lidl, Carrefour and Kaufland and to resellers and further processors. The company also exports to Greece, France, Bulgaria, Poland and the Netherlands.
Company website: carmistin.ro
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