The company PT servis konzervárna, which is one of the largest domestic producers of canned food, has increased sales in stores by 30 to 45 percent since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The company has already sold out all stocks. It supplies humanitarian organizations at lower prices, and there is great interest. The company also donated goods to Ukraine for CZK 350,000 and is able to immediately accept 20 people from Ukraine, but he encounters bureaucratic problems. Representatives of the company, which is the number one in the canned market after Orkla Foods.
“What is on the line today, we pack the next day and it immediately goes on an expedition. So far we have gone in two shifts, morning and afternoon, from Monday to Friday, it was beautifully chased. Now we work from Sunday to Saturday, in three shifts. even so, we are partially slippery,” said plant director Tomáš Miller.
According to him, everyone now buys mainly canned meat. The situation is similar to the year before the first wave of covid, when people pre-stocked. At that time, the company also produced continuously. “The difference is that at that time all products were sold, a lot of mass production, but also vegetables. Now it is mass production: meat, pâtés, ready-made canned food such as goulash, chicken on paprika,” said sales director Jiří Janča.
The company also catered to humanitarian organizations, which are now very interested in canning. They don’t have to buy them through intermediaries, so according to Janč they will save tens of percent of the price. “For example, they want a whole range of pork, chicken and mostly the whole truck. They are very interested in pork in their own juice,” Janča said. According to him, retail sales have now increased by up to 45 percent. Shops aren’t ready for that, he says. “They are often empty on the shelves of hypermarkets,” Janča said.
The cannery employs 135 people and 30 agency workers, from Ukraine. It is immediately able to accept 20 Ukrainians, ten for production, ten for packing. “I just want Ukrainians. I’ve tried Hungarians, Bulgarians, Romanians, but I need people who want to make money, they work. The experience with Ukrainians has been good for a long time.
The company offers 520 products, mainly pâtés, canned meat, sausages and sausages in glass or vegetables. It supplies to chains, school canteens, hotels, as well as in Slovakia and Hungary. Exports account for about 15 percent of turnover. Last year, it had revenues of around CZK 650 million, similar year-on-year. It last published the results for 2019, when it had a net turnover of CZK 496.8 million and a profit after tax of CZK 10.1 million. This follows from the financial statements.
It produces 7,000 tons of canned food, the same amount of vegetables and 1,000 tons of pâtés a year. He takes meat mainly from Germany. One of the novelties that is thriving is vegetarian and vegan spreads. Last year, she bought an automatic line for CZK 14 million, but she could not get a carton for three and a half months. The operation is financed by the company with the Czech owner without loans. The cost of packaging such as glasses or tin lids increased by an average of 55 percent last year.
The tradition of the Tábor cannery is over a hundred years long. The former Record factory was transferred to the Fruta company after nationalization in 1948, where the plant operated until 1989. PT servis konzervárna resumed production there in 2000. It mainly produces under the Viva brand, owns the Traditional Classic Znojmo Cucumber brand, states on the web.
Source: CTK
