October 3, 2011

With an investment cost of US$19 million, Cherkizovo launched a hatchery at its Penza poultry cluster with an annual incubation capacity of 105 million eggs, the largest in Russia.

The project also includes a modern slaughtering facility with an hourly capacity of up to 8,000 head, in addition to the existing slaughtering facility which has an hourly capacity of 6,000 head.

A fodder factory has also been constructed, with an annual storage capacity of 300,000 tonnes. These facilities are expected to be launched by the end of 2011. In addition, new bird houses at the existing sites of the Vasilievskaya factory will also be constructed.

In 2010, the Penza poultry cluster had a capacity of approximately 61,500 tonnes of live weight poultry meat. The completion of this project will see that rise to 140,000 tonnes in 2013.

Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group, said: "A key component for the successful execution of our business strategy is the increase of our productive capacity.

"Today we are therefore proud to announce the launch of one of the largest hatcheries not only in Russia, but also in Europe. By constructing facilities of this size we are able to benefit from scale economies."

He also added that the investments position the company's business well for growth over the long term.