Klaas Puul celebrating groundbreaking on Volendam shrimp production facility

Dutch shrimp processing firm Klaas Puul is celebrating a groundbreaking on its new facility in its hometown of Volendam, in the Netherlands, on 29 June.

The company first announced the construction project, which will serve as its new headquarters once completed, in January. At the time, then-CEO Maiko Van Der Meer said the new facility was being planned “mainly due to ever-increasing hygienic requirements and the need to adhere to the highest BRC [British Retail Consortium] certification standards.”

The invitation-only event will feature an overview of how the new factory will function, a meet-and-greet with company executives, a buffet featuring seafood products made by Klaas Puul, and the groundbreaking ceremony itself, in which company founder Evert Mooijer’s six grandchildren will lay down the factory’s foundation stone.

Klaas Puul processes both small North Sea and larger tropical shrimp in the Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark. It has around 3,500 employees and had nearly EUR 200 million (USD 222.6 million) in sales in 2016.

Its new, 5,506-square-meter shrimp processing and packaging facility, has a stated capacity of 20,000 tons and the company’s move-in date is planned for early 2018.