The production teams at Pauwels Sauces have started the year in sixth gear. In the first week of the new year a new production record was immediately set, while the demand for Pauwels’ cold sauces remains particularly high in the rest of the first quarter.

TEAM EFFORT

In the first week of the new year, the production teams at our site in Oelegem significantly sharpened the production record for cold sauces. For example, no less than 75% more was produced in the first week of 2021 compared to the weekly average of 2019 and 2020. An absolute record.

The record also proved to be a precursor to a first quarter with a lot of activity at Pauwels Sauces. The vast majority of the production lines run constantly to meet current demand. Hence the significant increase in the total volume produced after the first 9 weeks of the year. Our site in Oelegem, for example, shows an increase of 18% and 32% respectively compared to the same period in 2020 and 2019.

Thanks to the excellent team spirit, we can immediately benefit from our increased capacity and production speed in this first quarter.

We also see positive figures in our production site in Herent. There, for example, we noted a growth of about 80% on the volume of 250ml squeeze bottles produced during the past three months compared to the same period last year. The demand for the smaller bottles for mayonnaise, ketchup, specialty sauces, burger sauces, snack sauces, vegan sauces, etc. is peaking like never before.

The record figures are first and foremost a great collective achievement by everyone who is part of Pauwels Sauces. However, it is also a positive consequence of some decisions taken in between lockdowns according to Commercial Manager Mark Cardon.

The commitment of our people to positively influence this company really makes the difference.

“In 2020, our management made a conscious decision to allow the planned optimizations and investments in our production sites to take place as usual, despite the impact of the corona epidemic on our activities. This long-term vision and associated investments in, among other things, faster and more efficient cardboard tray packers, wrapping machines, palletisers, storage tanks, etc. have ensured that our capacity and production speed will continue to improve in 2021 ”, says Mark. “Our people, who quickly pick up on the innovations, make it possible that we can immediately reap the benefits of this in the first quarter is. The commitment that they show every day to positively influence this company really makes the difference. ”

NEW MARKETS

In order to be able to make optimal use of this extra capacity, new sales markets were also looked at at a commercial level. As Commercial Manager, Mark likes to keep his finger on the pulse.

We are always interested in the latest trends, while our mayonnaise is also peaking in foreign markets.

“For example, we have responded to the increasing interest from the market in vegan sauces and halal varieties. There is still quite a bit of potential in these markets, and we want to be able to exploit that potential in our production sites. We have also been able to provide a professional answer to the demand from the consumer market for smaller packaging. In addition, we produced more than average quantities of mayonnaise for export to the African continent, ”says Mark. “These factors together ensured that we were allowed to produce extra volumes in addition to our regular volume.”

CATERING AND FOODSERVICE

With summer just around the corner and hopefully a step towards a recaptured social life, it promises to be pretty busy on our production lines in the coming months.

With the summer and a possible reopening of the catering industry in prospect […], we trust that our extra capacity will already be of added value this year.

“As soon as the barbecue season approaches, we are ready to start producing the seasonal in & out’s. Because we will all still be going on holiday in our own back yard this year, consumers will again be looking for summer specialty sauces and barbecue assortments in the supermarket. In addition, a possible reopening of the foodservice industry will also give an extra impulse to our production. At the moment it is still difficult to make an estimate about that, but we trust that the extra capacity in our production sites will be able to add value for our customers this year in any case. ”