Barilla opens pasta sauce facility in Italy

Barilla, an Italy-based producer of pasta, pasta sauces, and bakery products, has opened a €40m pasta sauce production facility in Rubbiano di Solignano, Italy.

The facility, which will employ about 120 people when fully operational, produces 35,000t of sauces annually, and has a maximum capacity of 60,000t.

Barilla chairman Guido Barilla said the new sauce plant is an investment in quality in Italy with an international objective.

"While on the one hand, the ingredients, the recipes and the technology are Italian, the goal is to grow on foreign markets, taking the authentic Italian cuisine all over the world," Barilla added.

The plant will produce 50t of pesto-based sauces, 150t of tomato-based sauces, and about 24 types of Barilla recipes.

Barilla said that the primary raw materials used for the manufacture of the sauces, tomatoes and basil are 100% Italian.

The colour and freshness of the products will be ensured through advanced technology, and the plant will produce 32% less CO2 and consume 47% less water compared to average sauce plants, the company claimed.

The new plant, which will join Barilla’s 13 facilities in Italy, complements the company’s core pasta business, which produces varieties such as spaghetti and penne.

Currently, the company plans to focus on pasta, condiments, and a range of bakery products, which represent 60% of the sales, and is divesting assets such as German bakery chain Lieken, for which it has received several offers, reported Reuters.

The company has the second-largest pasta market in the US after Italy, and in 2012, it has established its operations in Singapore.