The loan from EBRD will support Land’Or in building a new plant in Morocco and to expand its operations in Tunisia
Tunisian cheese-maker wins €11m loan from EBRD. (Credit: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with support from the European Union (EU), has agreed to provide a loan of €10.9m to Land’Or, a Tunisian processed cheese-maker.
The EBRD loan will be used by Land’Or to expand its operations in Tunisia and Morocco. In Tunisia, Land’Or will receive €3.1m to procure new machinery and increase its production capacity.
The company also plans to optimise its processes at its Tunisian plant by improving industry standards and by investing in productivity, quality and safety.
In Morocco, Land’Or’s subsidiary Land’Or Maroc Industries (LMI) will receive €7.8m from EBRD. The loan will be used by LMI to acquire and install equipment at its new cheese-making facility to be built in Kenitra, north of Rabat.
Expected to be operational by the end of next year, the new facility will have the capacity to produce up to 2,700 tonnes of processed triangle cheese per annum.
The facility is also claimed to have been designed to manufacture new products and new packaging with an aim to increase its export potential.
Land’Or to benefit from EBRD’s Value Chain and Competitiveness Programme
LMI could also benefit from a grant from the EU, through the EBRD’s Value Chain and Competitiveness Programme, which aims to improve value chains and make businesses across the southern and eastern Mediterranean region more competitive.
Established in 1994 by Hatem Denguezli and Hichem Ayed, Land’Or is a processor of cheese in Tunisia. The company was listed in the Tunis Stock Exchange in 2013. Its Moroccan subsidiary LMI was recently established.
The company has been part of EBRD’s Blue Ribbon programme since this February.
The programme, which has been dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses with high-potential, has helped Land’Or by providing technical assistance in adopting International Financial Reporting along with increasing its export potential and operational efficiency.