PPK – the Karlovac meat industry demonstrates an exemplary formula for financing large investments from two main sources: reinvesting profits from operations and funds from the EU.
The first such combination, says Igor Miljak, CEO of PPK, was achieved three years ago when PPK received 11.2 million non-repayable kuna from the IPARD fund to improve conditions in existing production. The next investment episode is the modernization of the Šumbar beef cattle farm near Karlovac, which began with an investment of two million kuna in the renewal of machinery, followed by the reconstruction of the farm’s infrastructure to comply with the EU Nitrite Directive. However, the key news for PPK this year was the approval of funds from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, from the so-called operation 4.2.1 – for increasing the added value of agricultural products.
– Through the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, we have been granted non-repayable 38 million kuna, with the EU fund covering 85 percent and the state providing 15 percent. This is 50 percent of the total investment that we will mainly cover by reinvesting profits from regular operations, and that 38 million will be refunded to us after obtaining the occupancy permit, which we plan for the second half of 2017, says Miljak.
This investment will increase the capacities for shipping fresh goods, storage of fresh, dry, and commercial goods, and expand production capacities. In accordance with the latest standards and the growing needs of large retail chains, says Miljak, a significant portion will be invested in equipping a so-called clean room for the preparation and packaging of sliced products with an extended shelf life and in expanding the processing and packaging facilities for fresh meat in MAP packaging in a controlled atmosphere.
This construction is accompanied by a complex reconstruction of the sewage network, which has already connected PPK to the new city wastewater treatment plant, and a parking lot for the entire fleet of commercial vehicles has also been built. Such dynamic development and the introduction of the highest technological and hygiene standards, such as IFS (International Food Standard), without which there can be no thought of export and cooperation with large retail chains, has also been accompanied by an increase in the number of employees at PPK, which has grown from around 500 at the beginning of 2015 to currently 620 employees. The completion of the new facility of five thousand square meters will open new jobs, and Miljak warns of the shortage of qualified labor in the food sector.
