OREANDA-NEWS. December 27, 2013. Implementing the project has increased output capacity of Cherkizovo Group’s Bryansk poultry cluster (Kurinoe Tsarstvo in Bryansk) from 35,000 to 85,000 tonnes of poultry meat live weight per year.

A number of large facilities were constructed as part of a project to double capacity. These include 52 bird houses with 1.8 million poultry places at the Roshcha site, 56 bird houses with 1.9 million poultry places at the Pervomaiskaya site and a modern hatchery for 66 million eggs per year. More than 3 billion roubles were invested in the project.

The Bryansk poultry cluster was set up in 2007 after Cherkizovo Group acquired Kurinoe Tsarstvo OJSC, which at the time was Russia’s fourth largest poultry meat manufacturer with a brand that was popular in Central Russia and production facilities in Bryansk and Lipetsk Regions. Kurinoe Tsarstvo was successfully integrated into Cherkizovo Group’s existing manufacturing and sales structure.

Strict health and veterinary monitoring is implemented at the upgraded production facilities of the Bryansk poultry cluster. The airborne droplet chilling method for dressed poultry, which is more efficient than water chilling, was chosen for the processing facility to ensure the highest possible level of bio-protection. A new multipurpose line for grading and packaging poultry meat has also been launched at the processing facility.

In his comments on the project’s completion, Sergei Mikhailov, the CEO of Cherkizovo Group, said: “We completed a number of large-scale investment projects in 2013 that will strengthen the company’s leadership on the country’s meat market. We have completed the investment program in the pork division, where available capacity is now 180,000 tonnes per year, and projects to double poultry capacity in Penza and Bryansk Regions. We are planning to launch a number of infrastructure facilities next year, including hatcheries, grain elevators, and feed mills, which will allow us to control costs and make the company more competitive.”

Nikolai Denin, the Governor of Bryansk Region, said that the project was a fine example of cooperation between business and government. “We have watched the development of a poultry cluster capable of manufacturing large quantities of high-quality products in any season. Cherkizovo Group has completed a major project that has created new jobs in the region, increased tax payments to the regional budget and made high-quality domestic meat products available in stores. The company’s products are sold in Bryansk Region under the Kurinoe Tsarstvo brand, which has always been a favourite in the region for its great taste and affordable prices.”

Cherkizovo Group previously announced the successful completion of a project to double capacity in the Penza poultry cluster (Vasilyevskaya Poultry Factory). The project cost more than 4.5 billion RUB and boosted production capacity at the Vasilyevskaya Poultry Factory from 60,000 to 125,000 tonnes live weight per year, making Penza Region one of the country’s largest poultry producers. In 2013, Cherkizovo Group expects to produce about 345,000 tonnes of poultry meat (sellable weight).