Orkla invests in Stranda
Orkla intends to invest more than NOK 500 million in its pizza production in Stranda in western Norway. Frozen pizzas are sold in Norway for a total of NOK 2.1 billion to increasingly quality-conscious consumers.
"We are proud of our amazing pizza achievement at Stranda, and as the biggest player on the Norwegian pizza market, it's important that Orkla can consistently deliver higher quality. It's obvious to us that what is good enough today won't be good enough tomorrow," says Orkla President and CEO Peter A. Ruzicka.
The investment programme, which covers a period of five years, focuses both on new innovations and on rationalising production.
"Our goal is to continue to delight consumers with the best pizza. The investment programme, which consists of several stages, will enable us to create future innovations. We attach decisive importance to improving our production efficiency. Towards the end of the period, we want to combine our two factories in Stranda at one site," Peter A. Ruzicka says.
Stranda holds a very special place in Orkla's history. Its pizza venture began in earnest in 1980, when Orkla "invented" and produced the first Grandiosa pizza. At the time pizza was still considered exotic food in Norway. This investment will write a new chapter of Orkla's pizza adventure. Since 1980, well over 500 million Grandiosa and BigOne pizzas have been made in Stranda.
Orkla's pizza production in Stranda has a significant impact in terms of value creation in the Norwegian agricultural sector and Norwegian food production. Milk from around 6,400 cows is needed for one year's production of pizza. Translated into the number of farms employed, this means that close to 300 Norwegian farms are engaged on a full-time basis in supplying milk to meet the pizza factory's cheese needs.
About Orkla
Orkla is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions to the grocery, out-of-home and bakery markets in the Nordics, Baltics and selected markets in Central Europe and India. Orkla is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its head office is in Oslo. In 2016, the Group had a turnover of approximately NOK 38 billion, and 18,000 employees at year end.
Orkla ASA
Oslo, 29 March 2017
Ref.:
Group Director Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs
Håkon Mageli
Tel.: +47 928 45 828
E-mail: hakon.mageli@orkla.no