Seafood giant Thai Union has opened a new 8,000-metric-tonne cold store for its Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC) factory in Ghana.
The facility will ensure year-round temperature-controlled storage of Atlantic tuna from the PFC factory, consolidating Thai Union's supply chain and manufacturing footprint.
The new facility, featuring four storage halls, is located in Tema, near PFC’s manufacturing plant.
The sorting and sizing facility in the cold store is already operational, Thai Union added.
The John West maker invested $14 million in the cold store, intending to improve the factory’s performance and yield
'Supply Security'
Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union Group, added, “Our PFC factory plays a vital role for our brands across Europe and the US. This investment will further improve our supply security and competitiveness serving our customers.
“The next investments into PFC will be delivering towards our SeaChange 2030 sustainability plan, such as further lowering their emissions by installing solar panels and implementing measures to minimize waste to landfill, water discharge, and food loss.”
The cold store replaces PFC’s previous solution of using rented cold storage spaces scattered across the city.
The new cold store will allow the company to save on rental costs and reduce the number of truck trips needed to transport raw products between facilities.
Johnny Ladouce, plant director for PFC, stated, “Thanks to our new cold store we will cut traffic and CO2 emissions while ensuring we can produce throughout the year and independent of fluctuating fish supply.
“We are committed to Ghana and the communities we operate in by providing both direct and indirect jobs here in Tema.”
Product Quality
The new cold store will also help maintain full control over product quality, as everything will be processed in-house from storage to shipment, thereby further enhancing PFC’s competitiveness.
Operating since 1973 and acquired by Thai Union in 2010, PFC is the Group’s second-largest factory in Africa and employs approximately 1,100 people, the company noted.
PFC manufactures products for several international Thai Union brands, such as John West, Petit Navire, MareBlu, private-label customers across Europe, and Starkist in Ghana.
