“France is attractive to large international groups” : this is the government’s message, as part of the “Choose France” day organized this Monday. The Head of State and several ministers traveled to the regions to highlight the weight of foreign investment in our economy: Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Attractiveness, came to Saint-Denis-de -the Hotel at Mars Petcare this Monday morning.
– DR
The American company which manufactures food for dogs and cats will invest 85 million euros in its site Loiretain. Faced with the strong demand in particular for “fresh sachets” (+ 10% per year over the last three years), the famous “pouches” which are the flagship products created here in 1993, it will create two new production lines, which will allow create 70 jobs.
The image of France has changed!”
Franck Riester is pleased to see that “the image of France has changed”, according to him. “For years, we have observed a deindustrialisation of the country, with social dramas, a desertification of certain territories, and a vicious circle which devitalized these territories. Now, we see the opposite: industrial companies which invest in the territories, and including companies from other countries, which invest in France. And it does not fall from the sky, the French boss of Mars told us clearly that the group had chosen France because there had been a very clear improvement of the French tax environment. So it proves that politics is of some use”, rejoices the minister, with a well-rehearsed speech less than three months before the presidential election.
– Mars Petcare
Romain Dumas, the French, CEO of Mars Petcare & Food France, for his part, indicates: “we are going to increase the production of freshness sachets by more than 70% [marques Whiskas et Pedigree], adding 45,000 tons to the annual production that we already do today. And then, we will continue to renovate the existing tool. Finally, the new lines that we are going to build here will be able to accommodate the recyclable pouches of tomorrow because we are committed to ensuring that by 2025 100% of our packaging will be recyclable.”
Work to install the two new production lines should start at the end of the month. And they will come into operation by 2023. Present on site during this visit on Monday, Florence Galzin, vice-president of the Loiret Department and mayor of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, just next door, said she was reassured and very satisfied with these ads. let’s remember that Mars Petcare employs 450 people in Saint Denis de l’Hôtel where the company has been established since 1973, and that in 2019, the company announced a social plan on the Loire Valley site… before stopping it. “Three years ago, the company asked itself the question of investing on this site or in other French regions, or even elsewhere in Europe, so indeed, this announcement is good news for the territory!”
It should be noted that our reporter was not authorized by the company to take photographs during the visit to the Mars Petcare factory in St-Denis-de-l’Hôtel on Monday. The images published in this article were provided by the Mars Petcare group.