Meat Management took a trip to Poland to visit the manufacturing facilities at Promar Ingredients, now represented in the UK by the Rolinson Group. Philip Graham reports…
Chances are, you have not heard of Promar Ingredients yet. Well, that is about to change, as the company is targeting the UK and Ireland and, as announced earlier this year, has partnered with Rolinson Group, which is already making inroads into a variety of UK businesses with the range and diversity of products and solutions now on offer to the market.
To confirm the ongoing ambitions of Promar, the company opens a €25 million factory extension this month, a self-funded investment, expanding and doubling the current manufacturing capability.
Sales director and board member Damian Cieśla made the point that the new extension will not only substantially increase capacity and improve efficiency, but that the company is building in significant additional capacity, anticipating doubling its turnover over the next five years or less.
Like many UK visitors to the Promar operation, this writer was surprised by the scale and diversity of the business. Attention to detail and state-of-the-art facilities can stand comparison with the very best, and it is clear when taking the factory tour of the pride and professionalism of the workforce.
Global know-how
Promar was founded in 1989 and started off as a supplier of solutions for the meat sector. Across the following decades, the company systematically expanded its offer and strengthened its position in the wider food industry. A key moment in the company’s history came in 1999, when Promar joined the international Poly-clip System Group. This step gave the company access to global know-how and significantly accelerated its development.
Marcin Marmajewski, president of the Management Board, explained: “The expansion of our factory, the largest investment in the company’s history, is at a very advanced stage. The production halls have been fully constructed and enclosed – the walls, roof, windows and industrial flooring are complete, and the silos have already been installed. We are now undertaking installation of equipment and production lines, including fully automated packaging robots, which will significantly improve the efficiency of our production processes.
“We are therefore entering the final stage of equipping the facility and preparing it for the launch of production. We plan to complete the first phase of the investment by the end of September this year. This phase will include the commissioning of modern production lines and a fully equipped warehouse facility.”
“Our ambition reaches beyond being just a supplier – we want to be a real strategic partner for food producers. The new investment provides us with opportunities to support our customers even more effectively, both in Poland and in foreign markets. I believe that this step brings Promar closer to the group of industry leaders on an international scale.”
Marcin Marmajewski, Promar.
The company already has a presence in more than 40 countries and I asked sales director Damian Cieśla why the UK is of special interest: “We have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with Rolinson Group, who share our values, and we are confident that thanks to Rolinson Group’s experience and expertise we can continue to build the Promar brand presence in the UK through this exciting partnership, which we believe will create valuable growth for both parties and help many UK businesses in the food and meat sectors develop or consolidate great products and help them capture new markets and improve value and margins.”
A shared vision
Graeme Rolinson, managing director of Rolinson Group, added: “Working with premium products and premium brands and companies that share our vision and culture is of key importance to us. The Promar brand is highly respected, and we are very excited to work with a market-leading business that can support customers in-depth with innovation and inspiration, as well as reliability and high service levels.
“We both have ambition and mutual goals, and more importantly, we want to provide solutions for our growing list of customers to help them maximise market potential for existing and new products. The choice and reliability of quality ingredients is of vital importance to any manufacturing business, and we are now in a position to provide solutions that customers can trust and depend on.”
Research and development
Promar takes great pride and places considerable emphasis on its research and development capability and, of course, product testing is a vital arm of the process for any manufacturer or retailer.
The test kitchens at Promar offer superb facilities and the ‘Academy of Taste’ test kitchen is just one part of the process where products can be formulated, tested and recipes varied in a comfortable and modern environment.
The company also places much emphasis on sustainability and, as you would expect, standards of hygiene and safety are a big priority in the factory area, where the highest levels of food and product security is maintained.
Graeme Rolinson added: “Of course, the importance of security cannot be over emphasised. When dealing with customer products and development projects, the trust between supplier and customer is of the highest importance. Promar already deals with major brands in Poland, in Europe and further afield, and those we deal with in the UK and Ireland can be assured that the confidentiality of product formulation and development is strictly maintained.”
Damian Cieśla agreed, adding: “We are always excited to be part of product innovation and development, be that taste trials, helping customers with new ideas or tailoring products to specific customer needs. We have helped many successful businesses build brands and are well placed to offer the very best technical support, coupled with first-class R&D.”
A committed partnership
When I asked Damian to talk about the secret of Promar success, he was unequivocal: “It’s all about people,” he stated. “We look after our people and we support many local events and sports. We have an amazing R&D team and, as a business, we are absolutely committed to constant improvement in product delivery and great service.”
And as for the UK market, Damian was equally enthusiastic: “I am confident that Graeme and Matthew at Rolinson can help us supply and create great products for the UK market. We want to work with a professional UK partner that can deliver and that people trust, and in Rolinson Group, we have found that partner. We are very positive about future prospects.”
Graeme Rolinson has the last word: “Our policy from day one has been if we do it, we do it right or we don’t do it at all, and partnering with Promar at such an exciting time for the business fits perfectly with our policy of food processing from start to finish.
“Naturally, we talk to customers about our range of equipment, and that often leads to additional conversations about ingredients and product development. We are very happy to take customers to Poland to see the fantastic facilities at Promar and I am absolutely certain that an increasing number of players, whether big or small, will be impressed by what they discover.
“With the size of the UK market, we are confident that Promar will very soon be helping more and more businesses innovate, improve product formulations, and bring a fresh and vibrant approach to the business of making great products.
“In short, I believe that Promar together with Rolinson Group offers excellent synergy, and we look forward to helping more and more UK businesses over the months and years to come.”
