A few days ago began the expansion works of the new facilities of our company, with which we will expand our storage capacity and we will be able to offer a better and faster service to our customers.
Here is the news that was published in El Corto de Loja on July 26th:
“The company lojeña Congelados Apolo has recently started the expansion works of its facilities on land located in the polygon Manzanil II. This expansion, which will involve the construction of new warehouses with a total area of 5,000 square meters, will allow the company to continue to grow nationally and achieve more presence in the international market. “To meet this objective, it is necessary to expand our current facilities, to gain in storage capacity, better organize the daily work and increase our production capacity,” Joaquín A. Conde, financial director of Congelados Apolo, explains to El Corto de Loja and Onda Loja Radio.
The area chosen by the Loja company for its expansion is located next to the Loja Fire Station, with quick access to the highway and many possibilities for building. The land for the new facilities has a total area of 17,000 m2, of which about 5,000 m2 will be occupied in this first phase. However, in total, Apolo has acquired 105,000 m2 of which 85,000 m2 are to be developed.
According to the agreement signed with the City Council of Loja, the company will be in charge of the urban development of this area, so that the municipality can offer industrial land to those companies that want to set up in Loja. In addition, the company will also be responsible for the construction of a new sewage treatment plant in the area, which will then be transferred free of charge to the Consistory. Under this agreement, the Municipal Plenary approved a 95% rebate of the Tax on Constructions, Installations and Works (ICIO) to Congelados Apolo for this project.
“The agreement with the City Council has been very favorable. From the first moment they showed full predisposition, giving us all their support and speeding up procedures that in many cases would have been delayed without this support”, declares Joaquín A. Conde, who underlines that “this is what companies need from the Administration at this time”.
The total investment of Congelados Apolo is around 9 million euros. This expansion will allow the creation of between 15 and 20 new jobs, as well as a good number of indirect jobs. ” We have tried to ensure that most of the companies involved in the works are from Loja, so economic activity is already being encouraged,” Conde emphasizes.
According to the company’s estimates, the first phase of the project will be completed around January or February next year, after eight months of work. “The idea is to open as soon as possible, since during the last Christmas holidays we were forced to stop serving new customers due to an excess of orders and to be able to attend to our regular customers, who are many,” explains Apolo’s financial director.
The company has reserved more than enough land to undertake future expansions if necessary. ” We estimate that if our factory’s own products continue to grow in sales, in 3 or 4 years, we will have to expand the production lines”, explains Conde.
The company has drawn up a 5-year economic and financial viability project, according to which it aims to increase turnover by 70%, reaching 50 million euros.”
News: El Corto Digital