Grupo Pinsa, the owner of Mexican tuna firm Dolores, is making a USD 30 million (EUR 28 million) investment in a new canning and freezing facility in an effort to enter the sardine market.
The company's new plant, located off the port of Guaymas, Sonora, will be able to produce 750,000 boxes of sardines, with production ultimately expected to reach 3 million boxes, and will be able to complete 50 tons of freezing per day, Forbes reported. Nearly 92 percent of the plant’s production in its first year of operation will feed the domestic market in Mexico, with the remaining percentage allocated to the United States. The company's long-term aspirations for the plant include exporting to the Central American and European markets, under the Dolores and Portola brands.
"Sonora Sardines has the country's most important sardine fleet, with 15 vessels out of 48 in the Gulf of California, which means [a] little more than 30 percent of the fishing share in this area," said Armando Coppel, Director of the sardine operation of the Pinsa Group, to Forbes.
The facility will add 250 new jobs, according to the company, bringing the employment total up to 500.
"We are a group of companies that constantly seek to improve their performance to be more efficient, agile and innovative, so we are very enthusiastic to undertake this project, which in addition to generating new opportunities, will allow us to continue in the forefront," Coppel said.
