SALBAC SA Bacău – an AGRICOLA company
SALBAC is a company that is part of AGRICOLA Bacău Group, a holding of companies that carry on a tradition dating back more than 60 years.
AGRICOLA Group is one of the major players in Romanian agribusiness, with an annual turnover of about 150 million euros, with SALBAC bringing in about 25 million euros, 17% of the overall figure.
SALBAC is the Group’s second largest company by annual turnover. The company operates two meat processing factories, one for dry sausages and the other for boiled and smoked products.
After 2010, SALBAC chose to develop its dry sausages portfolio as its strategic path forward, invested in growing its sales, marketing, and distribution teams, and placed particular emphasis on maintaining and improving the quality of its products.
Each year, SALBAC runs audits to secure certification and recertification for quality standards that cover all European market requirements: BRC, ISO, IFS, as well as the requirements of audits done by public authorities.
Supported by the AGRICOLA brand, SALBAC managed to stand out in a crowded market as a producer that can, and knows how to, deliver quality. All these resulted in the following, between 2009 and 2015:
- total sales by volume increased by 45 %, from 3,259 tons to 4,713 tons (the estimate for 2016 is 5,204 tons, 11% up over 2015);
- turnover grew by 123%, from 51 million lei to 114 million lei (for 2016 we estimate a 14% increase over 2015).
- the most spectacular result was in the dry sausages segment, which in the past seven years saw an increase in sales by volume of 173% (from 864 tons to 2,363 tons, while the estimate for 2016 is 2,760 tons – 17% up over 2015).
Also, SALBAC’s most valuable product, the Sibiu salami sold under the AGRICOLA brand, the current market leader by far, recorded a 190% increase in the volumes sold between 2009 and 2015, from 389 tons to 1,126 tons, with 2016 expected to close with 1,350 tons sold – a 20% increase over last year.
In 2016 only, the AGRICOLA Sibiu salami was recognized multiple times for its exceptional quality:
- it was included in the Register of protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications, and traditional specialities of the European Union;
- it earned two gold stars and was awarded at the “Superior Taste Award” Gala organized by the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) in Brussels;
- it received the Silver Award from the International Quality Institute (Monde Selection);
- it is the product that, along with Puiul Fericit (the Happy Chicken) earned AGRICOLA Group the title of Purveyor to the Royal House of Romania.
Between 2012 and 2015 SALBAC won each year the “Campion în business” (“Business Champion”) award for the region of Moldova.
In all these years, SALBAC ran several investment programs that led to increases in its production capacity:
- 2011 – upgrading the dry products facility for a total capacity of 240 tons per year
- 2013 – upgrading the production of dry sausages to a total capacity of 400 tons per year
- 2014 – 2015 – expanding the vacuuming department for a capacity of 400 tons per year
- 2015 – developing the fresh products department for a capacity of 1,200 tons per year
- 2016 – commissioning the largest expansion project in the company’s history, for a total capacity of 960 tons per year
SALBAC is currently the leader of the Romanian dry sausages market (from a 7.1% market share by value in 2009 to 19.9% in 2016) and, by far, the market leader for the best known premium meat product in Romania: Sibiu salami (growing from 24.9% market share by value in 2009 to 50% in 2016).
In line with AGRICOLA Group’s strategy, SALBAC continues to focus on its growth and market differentiation targets, on the one hand by targeting product quality and following consumer demand, and on the other by motivating its team through KPIs and multiple personal development programs.