László Bárány, co-owner of the family-run Baromfi-Coop Kft. announced on 7th of April that the liquidated Hajdú-Bét Rt’s factory in Kisvárda had been acquired by Baromfi-Coop. Hajdú-Bét’s facilities in Hajdúnánás, Kisvarsány, Kaba, Földes, and Sárospatak, too, were purchased by Baromfi-Coop. What has happened over the past seven months in the “poultry empire”? Gyula Molnár, Director of the Kisvárda plant points all around the premises: constructions as far as the eyes can see. The poultry-processing plant was certified by all major quality certification organizations last year and the year before that, so this year’s tasks only include the rebuilding and modernization of the plant so that it lives up to the standards of Master-M Kft, which established Hungary’s first eco- (natural) chicken processing plant in Petneháza.

“The slaughter-house resumed operation on 13th of April, after a four-month standstill,” says Gyula Molnár.

Full-scale Integration

“The slaughter-house resumed operation on 13th of April, after a four-month standstill,” says Gyula Molnár. The new owner of the facility, as the legal successor, undertook to continue to employ 200 people, which meant that their employment was uninterrupted since the time when their employer was Hunnia Coop. At first, only 20 to 30 thousand chickens were slaughtered, then we gradually increased the output to the current 180 to 200 thousand chickens per week. This number includes 6-7 thousand eco- (natural) chickens, too, while the rest are regular broilers. Slaughtering and processing are not all. The Bárány family purchased Hajdú-Bét’s broiler facilities, too, as a result of which almost 90% of the processed chickens will come from the company’s own plants by the middle of next year. László Bárány established a full-scale integration, which covers all operations from feed supply, parent livestock raising and hatching to broiler production. Mr Bárány oversees the entire company and his work is aided by his two sons, who have qualifications in agriculture and animal breeding.

Quality has A Price Tag

Recently, there have been increased opportunities for growth: after Hajdú-Bét’s liquidation, Bábolna also went bankrupt, therefore the market expanded. However, the poultry processing plant in Békéscsaba is now resuming operation, which will certainly increase competition. Which, by the way, is advantageous for the market. The problem is, according to Gyula Molnár, is that Hungarian poultry products receive virtually no protection or support. The food processing industry gets even less support than what is provided for waste disposal in the EU. As a result, the Hungarian market is now flooded with Polish and Slovakian chickens which due to their support in the country of manufacturing are much cheaper than Hungarian chicken. The quality of imported chicken, however, is far below what Master-M Kft produces and Master Good sells.

We now return to the future prospects of the Kisvárda plant, which performs the processing of poultry from slaughtering to cutting. Packing still takes place in Petneháza. After completion of the 400-million-HUF development project, however, all processes will take place in Kisvárda, in Central Europe’s most modern plant. Before the project, the plant did not have the necessary capacity for all manufacturing processes. At present, 230 people work in the Kisvárda plant, most of whom are skilled labourers. The Nyíregyháza Regional Training Centre is now launching a course for forty semi-skilled labourers to become skilled labourers. Including the technical and administrative personnel, the total number of employees is 350. Upon completion of the project (expected to take place in mid-January), the packing machines will be transferred from Petneháza to Kisvárda and the number of employees will concurrently increase to about 400.

Product Development Has Commenced

“The finishing processes of eco- (natural) chicken is expected to continue to be performed in Petneháza for some more time and we will also make new products there, such as marinated and seasoned poultry, which are already in demand in Europe. Product development in this field has only recently commenced and the Petneháza facility will be used for this purpose in the future,” says Gyula Molnár, Director.

Kelet-Magyarország / 11 November 2004