PROXCOR Cuba
LOCATION
Caibarién, Cuba
PROJECT TYPE
Food production
SECTOR
Production
MARKET VALUE
EUR 93,000,000
CURRENT STATUS
Active
The Proxenta investment group has established the first Slovak-Cuban joint venture company, the scope of business of which is the production of confectionery. The new company is called Proxcor and is globally the tenth food production company in Cuba. However, Proxenta is the global leader due to the fact that it became owner of a majority stake of 51% and has a three-fifths representation in the board of directors of the newly formed company. The contract is signed for 25 years.
Proxenta has established a company with majority ownership in Cuba. It will produce sweets.
Plant in Cuba
In 2019, under the name PROXCOR S.A., a joint venture was established with the participation of Slovak investor PROXENTA Cuban Investments a.s. and Cuban trading company CORPORACIÓN ALIMENTARIA S.A. CORALSA. The goal of the investment is the modernisation of the existing Confiteria Caibarién confectionery plant, located in the industrial zone of the Caibarién district in the Cuban province of Villa Clara. On 28 June 2019, both parties signed an agreement establishing the first Cuban-Slovak joint venture, Proxcor.
The production plant is divided between two halls: Hall A produces cookies and waffers, Hall B produces breakfast cereals and hard sweets. At present, production hall A is fully operational. Hall B underwent reconstruction and is being prepared for production. The production plant itself is located in a building with a total area of 8,620 square metres. In the future, the factory will have a three-shift operation and about 450 employees.
Production capacity
At full production capacity, the plant should reach a production of 17,000 tonnes of confectionery per year, which will make it possible to replace almost one hundred per cent of today’s import volume. The capacity of the plant should be fully utilised by 2027. The agreement with the Cuban government is for 25 years. During this period, the plant has guaranteed sales of all production.
The company will produce and market four basic product lines:
• Cookies, filled/unfilled
• Filled wafers, coated/uncoated
• Cereals
• Hard sweets, filled/unfilled
Logistics
Caibarién’s central location is key to distributing the confectionery throughout the island. There will be no large warehouses in the plant, but the company will own a large fleet of vehicles (96) enabling the immediate distribution of goods. Proxcor is the only company with logistics in its business activities, so it can make full use of its fleet in Cuba – it can effectively lease it.
The entire region benefits from the entry of a foreign investor. Proxenta actively monitors the use of funds from local taxes paid by Proxcor. As part of a study carried out during the establishment of the joint venture, the benefits of the project for the country are also quantified. The benefits of this project will approach three hundred million dollars in the first twenty years alone. Everything is included in this number, including taxes paid.
