ProA Capital fund acquired Agricola Villena to sustain and provide resources to the company, which was on the verge of closure at the end of last year due to a decrease in workload and rising costs. The operation will include Dismissal of 30 of the cooperative’s nearly 300 workers, as well as the transition from 70 to discontinuous constant. As a result, the investment plan designed by the new management team includes the modernization of the facilities as well as the investment in lines for processing new products. Investments, in particular, will exceed 10 million euros in the coming years.
The new management team comes from the agri-food industry to strengthen the existing directive and implement continuous improvement and process management systems. According to information from ProA Capital, the agreement reached between the company and the workers will give the company the necessary flexibility to adapt to the needs of the agri-food industry. This business plan, which will be implemented, will ensure sustainable and high-quality employment creation thanks to the expected growth in the coming years.
CC OO sources reported that the plan will envision the layoffs of 30 workers, as well as the voluntary transfer of 70 to non-permanent permanent jobs. María Teresa Martínez, head of the state’s union’s agriculture sector, said: “While applying for layoffs has never been positive, the cooperative is in a very delicate situation and alternative bankruptcy“. Some improvements were made in the negotiation, such as the fact that in the future these intermittent landlines will turn into ordinary landlines.
Launching this Friday with the participation of ProA Capital, the new growth and modernization plan will allow Agricola Villena to once again increase production of the company’s classic products such as carrots, leeks and celery; when investing development of new products in the fourth and fifth range. Product innovation will be a key pillar on which the company hopes to grow sustainably over the long term and deliver added value to the end customer.
Agrícola Villena, founded in 1986 as a cooperative company and turned into a limited company, is dedicated to the commercialization of fresh vegetables, primarily carrots, leeks, celery and cooked vegetable trays, and has two production centers in Villena and Italy. The municipality of Cadiz, La Barca de la Florida
ProA Capital de Inversiones SGEIC, for its part, is one of the largest independent managers of private equity funds in Spain. 1.5 billion € assets extensive experience under management and in the world of food companies and agriculture. Pastas Gallo, Patatas Hijolusa, Moyca or Delafruit stand out among the companies it invests in in the agri-food sector.