Managers of Lesieur, a subsidiary of the Avril Group, revealed plans this morning to modernize and develop its industrial and research activities in Coudekerque (Nord department, northern France).
The historical home of Lesieur – which will be celebrating its 110th birthday in 2018 – this site which employs 246 people will thus benefit from investments worth €21.4 million spread over three years on its refining plant (€2.4 million), edible oils packaging facility (€17 million) and Research, Innovation and Development Center (€2 million), all dedicated to table oils and condiments.
Through this investment, Lesieur, a subsidiary of Avril, is aiming to adapt its industrial facilities so that it can respond efficiently to changes in demands from customers and consumers, while at the same time assuring the competitiveness of these activities and their long-term future. The Research, Innovation and Development Center will also be broadening the scope of its work to all products made using vegetable oils and proteins produced by the oilseeds and proteins sector.
For Jean-Philippe PUIG, Avril's CEO, "This investment aims to make Coudekerque a cutting-edge industrial facility that can better respond to the demands of our customers and consumers. It wholly reflects Lesieur's ambition to remain the leader in its market, but also the unfailing commitment and know-how of the teams working in the facility and research center in Coudekerque. Thanks to them, we are now able to open a new chapter in the history of this site which is emblematic of a brand and Group with deep roots in the life of the region and in the French agriculture and food industries."
Romain NOUFFERT, General Manager of Lesieur, adds: "We are proud to be driving a project that will offer future prospects for the facility and research center in Coudekerque that are so important to the history of Lesieur's presence in the region. By adopting cutting-edge equipment and methods, Lesieur Coudekerque will become a benchmark in terms of quality, flexibility and industrial innovation regarding both its recipes and packaging systems."
This new investment plan means that more than €60 million will have been devoted by the Avril Group to modernizing Lesieur's production facilities during the past three years in mainland France. It follows the inauguration in January 2016 of a vegetable oil bottling and packaging plant in Bassens, near Bordeaux, which cost €31 million, and further illustrates both the strong territorial roots of Avril and its deep commitment to the future of French farming and industry.
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About Lesieur:
An Avril Group subsidiary, Lesieur is a centenarian French company that produces and sells a full range of vegetable oils, sauces and condiments. The company has become a benchmark for both the general public and professionals for its oil brands such as Lesieur, Puget, ISIO 4, Frial, Fleur de Colza, and through its offer of a large portfolio of innovative products focused on several specific areas: taste, quality, nutrition and respect for the environment.
About the Avril Group:
Set up in 1983 at the initiative of French farmers in order to assure the future of the vegetable oils and proteins sector, Avril has become a major industrial and financial group that is developing in France and internationally.
Avril is present in sectors as diverse as human foods, animal feeds and expertise, renewable energies and chemistry, and owns a portfolio of strong brands that are leaders in their markets: Diester®, Sanders, Lesieur, Puget, Matines, Bunica, Taous, etc.
In more than 30 years, the Group has changed in size but its purpose has remained the same: to create sustainable value in the vegetable oils and proteins sector while contributing to better foods for humans and preservation of the planet.
To fulfil its mission, Avril draws strength from its industrial activities organized around plant production and livestock sectors, and from its financial arm which operates through Sofiprotéol, its finance and development company.
In 2015, the Avril Group achieved turnover worth €6.1 billion. It counts 7200 employees working in 21 countries.
www.groupeavril.com | Twitter: @Avril
Contacts:
Marie PINOT | Lesieur
Tél : +33 (0)1 40 80 29 59 / Mob. : +33 (0)7 63 04 17 15
E-mail : mpinot@lesieur.fr
Tom DORON | Groupe Avril
Tél : +33 (0)1 78 14 80 09 | Mob. : +33 (0)6 26 28 39 94
Email : tom.doron@groupeavril.com