ENRD Main Stories Archive

Project of the month: Agropan (Romania)

EAFRD supports traditional bakery in Romania

The Agropan bakery, a small business in Romania, benefited from EAFRD support when it wanted to modernise and expand. Today, Agropan provides fresh bread for over 85 000 people, as well as much needed local employment in the counties of Cluj and Bistrita.

Agropan started activities in 1991 as a small bakery run by Monika Ersek. Over time it became clear to Monika that expanding the bakery in line with her distinct vision for the business would require much investment. Undaunted and together with her team, she decided to restructure the business completely.

Thanks to EAFRD funding of €900 000 coupled with private funding of some €1.7 million, Agropan was able to invest in building construction, equipment modernisation and staff training. This allowed the bakery to improve both productivity and hygiene standards.

According to Ms Ersek, people may buy a product once out of curiosity but what keeps them coming back is high quality. And this high quality cannot be achieved by machines only, it requires dedicated bakers.

Thanks to her enterprising vision, the hard work of her team and vital funding support, the project has increased the productivity and competitiveness of the bakery, as well as expanded the range of products it can offer to local communities. Argopan is also now serving a greater geographical area as it sells its products to almost all shops in the region.

The rural areas of the counties of Cluj and Bistrita now enjoy a greater array of produce, including traditionally baked bread and other high-quality baked goods. In addition, Agropan has created 103 new jobs in the area - an enormous boost for a region where unemployment is a major issue.

To watch a video ‘postcard’ on this project, click here.