Coren (Cooperativas Ourensanas Sociedad Cooperativa Gallega) is preparing an expansion of its plant to strengthen its position in the food sector in Spain. The project, which is already in the approval process, encompasses the expansion of the current facilities and the launch of new production lines.
With an estimated investment of around 110 million euros, the company plans to create 100 new jobs, of which approximately 60% are expected to be filled by women. Furthermore, it is estimated that 90% of these contracts will be permanent and 10% temporary.
The works will be carried out in Santa Cruz de Arrabaldo, in the municipality of Ourense, within the existing Poultry Processing Centre. The expansion includes works both inside the complex and on the adjoining land.
The total surface area will reach 235,000 m² following the expansion
Following the expansion, the total surface area of the plant will increase to 234,988 square metres, encompassing the existing facilities, the new spaces required to the east and west, and the public road in the northern zone to improve access to the future premises. According to the technical documentation, the planned buildings will cover approximately 30,000 square metres, where new production lines will be installed and logistics will be optimised. Among these, the meat by-product processing line stands out — primarily hydrolysed proteins — with an average capacity of 2.5 tonnes per hour.
A report by the Xunta included in the proposal states that Coren aims to «transform this centre into a key food production and logistics complex at regional and national level, with unique production volumes and throughput rates».
A commitment to the future
According to COREN itself, the facilities of the poultry processing centre in Santa Cruz de Arrabaldo are located on an industrial plot with a high site coverage ratio. For this reason, in order to carry out expansions that maintain operational efficiency and quality, additional land area is required.
Coren rules out the possibility of relocating to another site, as this would entail prohibitive economic costs, in addition to the scale of the existing facilities. The cooperative concludes that the most viable option is to remain at the current location and proceed with its expansion, taking advantage of the fact that the adjoining land is free from construction and is suitable for securing the industry’s future.
Poultry, the livestock sector generating the greatest turnover for COREN
Among the company’s main production lines, poultry remains the most prominent and generates the highest business volume: 35.1% of sales in 2023 correspond to this sector. Feed manufacturing maintains its importance, accounting for 21.8% of total sales. One of Coren’s strategic focuses in recent years has been the pig sector, and this segment experienced an increase of 4.8 percentage points compared to 2022, bringing its share to nearly 21% of annual sales. Beef and veal generated 12.1% of activity.
«The expectation is that growth will continue in the coming years, consolidating presence in the domestic market — which accounts for 87.2% of turnover — and expanding internationally. The objectives are to continue promoting higher added-value products by increasing their market share and to continue improving the main processing centres (poultry, pig and beef) in order to optimise efficiency and costs across all production processes», the company explains.
The Poultry Processing Centre
In Santa Cruz de Arrabaldo (Ourense) lies the Poultry Processing Centre (CPA) of COREN, which also houses the group’s head offices. More than 1,000 people work on the site. The complex has 50,000 square metres of covered floor space and, by virtue of its scale, cutting-edge design and state-of-the-art technology, is one of the most advanced in the European Union. The CPA channels all poultry production from its farms as well as the majority of processed products, and is also the registered office of Gallega de Alimentación S.A. (GALSA), the company that markets the poultry product range across the various distribution channels. Today, through Galsa, its subsidiaries and distributors, the Coren group is present in all domestic and international markets. It has its own branch offices in Ourense, A Coruña, Vigo, León, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia.
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