Christine M. Watterson
Maó
Although the two parties involved have declined to make any official comment, Kraft Foods has signed a pre-sale agreement with Industrias Lácteas Asturianas (ILAS) for the sale of its factory in Maó, subject to a business plan which has to be settled by the end of this month at the latest. The Asturian company, which markets its products under the brand name Reny Picot, will have to demonstrate the viability of keeping the Maó factory open and guarantee to maintain the majority of the jobs, these being requisites stipulated by Kraft in any negotiations concerning the sale of its Menorcan holding.
At the moment Industrias Lácteas Asturianas is studying the viability of the project in terms of volume. The factory in Maó currently processes between 14,000 and 15,000 tons of products from 15 to 20 farms and this firm would only be able to absorb part of the production under its own label, the rest would have to be marketed as "·own brands" for supermarket chains (these products being in greater demand nowadays due to the economic crisis). Ironically the increased popularity of these brands, at the cost of its own sales, was one of the reasons given by Kraft in January for closing the Maó plant.
The multinational has so far declined to confirm or deny the negotiations with ILAS.
A family firm in the international market
Industrias Lácteas Asturians (ILAS S.A.) was founded in Anello (Asturias) by Francisco Rodríguez who is the current President of the company. The Rodríguez family holds 84% of the capital of the company.
The first product made by the firm in 1960 was a Camembert cheese, prompting Rogríguez to look for a French-sounding name for the cheese, hence Reny Picot, which is the trade name for the company's products.
According to its web page, the company now has the capacity to process more than three million litres of milk per day, making it perhaps one of Europe's biggest producers. For more than 40 years the brand has been on sale throughout the country and also further afield. ILAS now has plants in Mexico, the U.S.A., Spain, China, France, Portugal and Poland and its products are exported to Europe, Africa, America and the Near East.
The brand name is associated with quality as a result of the firm's continued efforts in this area, as is "El Caserio" in Maó and hence the interest in the Menorcan factory.
Industrias Lácteas Asturiana deals mainly with dairy produce, from UHT products to butters, cheeses, powdered milk, dietary products and baby milk.