Nestlé set to expand ready meals facility in France

Nestlé Professional, a Nestlé business that supplies the food services industry, is set to invest €40m to expand its Davigel facility in Noyal-Pontivy, France, a move which is expected to create 90 jobs.

The expansion will allow the company to further develop its range of nutritionally balanced meals for hospital patients, and is expected to be completed by late 2014.

Davigel is a leading provider of frozen and chilled food solutions, supplying meals to hospitals and healthcare institutions in France, where more than 990 million meals are served to patients annually.

Nestlé Professional Business-to-Business head Jean-Marie Gurné said that Davigel offers nearly 3,000 products and is constantly renovating its portfolio.

"This investment will help provide an even greater variety of high-quality, nutritious products to satisfy our customers’ expectations."

"Research demonstrates that nutritionally balanced meals can help speed up the healing process for patients," Gurné added.

Davigel’s culinary solutions for hospitals enable catering firms to offer nutritious meals to patients in a safe and cost-effective manner.

Its meals are designed to allow hospitals to better address patients’ specific nutritional requirements, according to Nestlé.

Davigel, established in 1963, is present in ten countries in Europe and beyond, and it posted a turnover of €783m in 2012.

Davigel employs more than 3,000 people across its three factories in France.

In 2011, Nestlé Professional established a Davigel training centre in Dieppe with an investment of €8m, to help chefs develop a comprehensive set of professional skills and to better understand change in food legislation and food safety requirements.

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Image: Nestlé stated that the expansion of the Davigel facility will allow it to further develop its range of nutritionally balanced meals for hospital patients. Photo courtesy of Nestlé.