LAUNCHED 2023 INVESTMENT PLAN FOR 38 MILLION EUROS

Angri (SA), Feb. 21, 2023 – La Doria, leading group in the production of tomato derivatives, sauces, legumes, and fruit juices under the major retail brands, controlled by the Investindustrial fund and owned by some members of the Ferraioli family, has approved an investment plan for 2023 amounting to 38 million euros. The figure is in addition to more than 160 million invested by the company in the five-year period 2018-2022. The investment plan will involve three main directions along which specific interventions will be developed: production capacity, environmental impact, and digital transformation. “We are very pleased to announce this new investment plan, which translates into concrete actions the representative principles of our company,” said La Doria Group CEO Antonio Ferraioli – “In addition to the improvements that will allow us to increase production capacity and make aspects related to production even more innovative and efficient, we are particularly proud to be able to further expand our projects in the ESG sphere, thus confirming our commitment to the energy transition that has always been part of the DNA of La Doria, a company oriented towards environmental sustainability, production efficiency and technological innovation.”

Production capacity

Faced with an important growth trend recorded in recent years by the legume market, the company decided to respond by investing in the installation in the Sarno (SA) plant of a new production line for boiled canned legumes. For the La Doria Group, legumes represent a constantly growing sector, suffice it to say that in 2022 the company recorded a net +9% over the previous year’s production. Pillars of the Mediterranean diet, legumes have been experiencing, for some years now, a moment of strong popularity, thanks to new food trends oriented toward a healthier and more sustainable approach. Indeed, consumers recognize legumes as a complete, accessible food with high nutritional value. Thanks to the new line, the company will be able to increase its production capacity by more than 110 million half-kg boxes annually, reaching a total annual production capacity of 340,000 tons.

ESG

A very sensitive issue for the company is the environmental impact of its activities. For this reason, a large portion of the planned investments in 2023 will be allocated to projects in ESG activities. Overall, the planned initiatives will enable the company to reduce annual emissions by 1,000 tons CO2. Specifically, the Group has identified two types of activities aimed respectively at reducing Scope1 emissions-those generated by the company-and Scope2 emissions-those generated indirectly by energy consumption. Regarding the first type, La Doria has planned two actions aimed at reducing the use of combustible gas. The first consists of the installation of energy-efficient generators and boilers – capable of consuming less fuel gas – at the Lavello and Fisciano plants: the new generators will lead to a reduction in emissions of about 600 tons CO2/year. The Sarno plant, on the other hand, will see the installation of a tomato concentration plant with mechanical compression, which will not use fuel gas for its operation and will allow its consumption to be reduced to zero, further reducing emissions (about – 250 tons CO2/year). From the point of view of reducing Scope2 emissions, the main intervention will involve increasing the use of renewable energy. In fact, photovoltaic systems – already present at the Sarno and Fisciano sites – will be installed at the Angri plant. The nearly 900 photovoltaic panels will cover, on the roofs of the plants, an area of 3100 square meters allowing a reduction in emissions of more than 150 tons CO2/year. Thanks to this investment, La Doria will be able to count on almost 100,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels – considering the 3 plants – which is equivalent to an annual emission reduction of about 1400 tons CO2.

Digital Transformation

The last type of investment planned for 2023 aims to further increase the company’s ability to compete in the global market through Digital Transformation. The goal is to accelerate the execution of core business activities, improve the reliability of processed information, and mitigate risks from cyber-attacks. The company has focused investments in four areas: business intelligence-through the adoption of advanced solutions for the analysis of data from all business processes-Smart manufacturing, with a set of actions geared toward the digital interconnection of plants with ERP and MES management systems-Cyber Security, targeted interventions on the technological infrastructure aimed at ensuring cybersecurity-and finally measures to upgrade the SAP ERP information system to reengineer business processes and build an information platform on which to integrate a series of innovative solutions to support administrative and supply chain flows.

La Doria Spa

La Doria Spa, a company whose share capital is indirectly held 65 percent by investment companies of the Investindustrial VII L.P fund and by some members of the Ferraioli family for the remaining 35 percent, is Europe’s leading producer of preserved legumes, peeled tomatoes and tomato pulp in the retail channel and among the leading Italian producers of fruit juices and beverages. The Company is also the leading producer in Europe of ready-made sauces under the brand name of retail chains (private labels). Sales 2021 were 866 million euros, 97 percent of which were generated through the private labels segment with leading domestic and international retailers.

For more information:

La Doria Press Office

Patrizia Lepere, Corporate Affairs & Communications Manager

Tel +39 081 5166260 – Mob 340/9673931 patrizia.lepere@gruppoladoria.it

Ad Hoc Communication Advisors

Giorgio Zambeletti – Email: giorgio.zambeletti@ahca.it

Ivan Barbieri – Mob: 3351415581 – e-mail: ivan.barbieri@ahca.it

Sara Mastrorocco – Mob: 3351415590 – e-mail: sara.mastrorocco@ahca.it

Beatrice Cuccirelli – Mob: 3351415587 – e-mail: beatrice.cuccirelli@ahca.it