Petersime begins major expansion project

After four consecutive years of sales growth and rising market share, Petersime has outgrown its current office and production facilities in Olsene, Belgium.

To keep pace with this rapid expansion in output, the company has just purchased 22,000 m² of additional land in a newly developed industrial area next to the current Petersime site. The company will also be using the opportunity to improve its efficiency and capacity in production and logistics, as well as increase customer satisfaction, says Petersime.

With 165 employees and over €48 mln in revenues, Petersime is involved in designing and manufacturing incubators and hatcheries.

The expansion project will include:
– A new production hall of over 4,000 m².
– 2 new logistics zones with a total of 8 loading docks positioned to load up to 8 trucks and/or containers simultaneously. Incubators will be shipped exclusively from the first zone (5 docking stations), while the second zone (3 docks) will be used to hold and ship hatchery air handling systems and specialised hatchery equipment.
– 340 m² of new staff and meeting facilities.
– A new 620 m² building to house the new showroom, Service Station with extensive customer training facilities, and the Marketing Department.
– A 180-space car park for visitors and staff.
– Energy-saving investments in roof-mounted photovoltaic solar panels.

The total investment programme will run over a period of 18 months.

As a first step, the land purchase agreement was officially signed on 29 June 2009. Henk Heyerick, Mayor of Zulte (Olsene), signed the land sale contract on behalf of Veneco. Petersime was also on hand, represented by Michel De Clercq and Paul Degraeve, its two MDs. Veneco and other local authorities have worked very closely with Petersime, a key employer in the community, to optimise the layout of the industrial area.

Construction is set to begin in October 2009. The new facilities are expected to be fully operational by mid-2011.