Beverage and snacking giant PepsiCo has opened an automated warehouse at its snacks factory in Popești-Leordeni, Romania, investing €92.6 million since 2022.
The investment saw the addition of three new production lines in the facility alongside the automated warehouse. The latest upgrade will boost the factory's annual production capacity to 39,000 tonnes.
The facility supplies products to 17 countries across Central and Southeast Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Ukraine, Kosovo, North Macedonia, the Czechia, and Slovakia.
The warehouse was built over a year for €30.7 million. Spanning 32,500 square metres, it features a 34-metre high-bay storage area and can handle 23,500 pallets and efficiently process up to 320 pallets per hour.
The warehouse boasts a 700 kWp photovoltaic panel system, making it practically energy-independent. This design also optimises inventory management and ensures product integrity by minimising handling.
Sustainability Strategy
This new automated warehouse aligns with PepsiCo's pep+ goals for long-term sustainability. It is projected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 500 tonnes annually. Additionally, the warehouse eliminates the need for over 9,000 transfer trucks per year and slashes the carbon footprint of stored pallets by a factor of five.
Radu Berevoescu, general manager and senior commercial director East Balkans, PepsiCo Romania, commented, “The completion of this investment marks an important step in centralising all our operations in one location, transforming our factory into a strategic regional hub for Central and Southeastern Europe.
“With its impressive production and storage capacity, this facility will ensure efficient inventory control while reducing carbon emissions and operational costs.”
PepsiCo has been operating and investing in Romania for over 30 years and over the past decade has directly invested €293 million in the Balkan country.
