Bottom-up
— 2005-09-29 —

Today, Produkty Pitania’s Kaliningrad-based plant is the largest frozen convenience foods facility in Russia and Eastern Europe, with its production equaling that of Europe’s three largest plants combined.  

Even before the 1996 Federal Law on Special Economic Zones was adopted, Stefano Vlahovic, a young Croatian businessman and the head of Produkty Pitania Company, was importing chicken legs to Russia. Given the Kaliningrad region’s many advantages as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Vlahovic decided that it was the best location for the company’s new processing plant.

Working with Tyson Foods - America’s largest chicken legs exporter – he knew that the demand for chicken meat would grow in Russia.  Vlahovic also knew that freezing was the best way to ensure product safety without using preservatives.  And Produkty Pitania already had a well-developed distribution network.  So all the company needed was advanced production equipment and storage facilities.

In 1998, Produkty Pitania began building a new production facility in Kaliningrad; and shortly after that Russia went through its notorious banking crisis. Yet despite the crisis, Stefano Vlahovic continued to carry out his plans, knowing that any interruption would result in a loss of time and money – and the company had invested a great deal in construction and equipment.

Produkty Pitania’s production facilities in Kaliningrad total 7,000 square meters, and include electric and gas supply lines, boiler rooms, artesian wells, a reserve transforming station, a diesel power plant, and waste treatment facilities. The plant uses nine state-of-the-art production lines to produce 45 types of products, equaling around 350 tons per day. 

The company continues to demonstrate sustainable growth, both financially and in its production.  In fact, as the region’s major employer and investor, Produkty Pitania plays a major role in maintaining Kaliningrad’s economic stability.  The company invests strategically - which means that its activity must have a positive impact on the country in which it operates, as well as on the region in which it is invested.   So as a strategic investor, Produkty Pitania is above all a responsible corporate citizen and a law-abiding taxpayer, with its goal being to ensure the company’s reputation as a highly stable and growing concern in the Kaliningrad region.