For three years now the Director General of Boyer (and the national prune PDO), Joël Boyer, his brother, the Commercial Director and his father, the Founder, have been thinking about expanding. He explains that “Plums have gained ground, more and more varieties are farmed and new producers are arriving on the market.” 50% of national volume is produced in the Tarn-et-Garonne and the South Lot, an advantage which is “not yet organised enough” according to Mr Boyer who has big plans to fix this.
Boyer is going to construct a new building, just behind their current buildings, for plum and kiwi production. They have owned the 4 hectares of land for ten years or so and have been thinking of this extension for a while. Work to begin the six cold rooms, which will be able to stock 1,700 tons of fruit, should start in a few days. “We have had to, until now, rent cold rooms during the summer every year to stock 1,500 tons of plums.” The cold rooms should be operational as soon as this summer.
The building will stretch over 9,000m2 and be equipped with calibrating machines. They will have what they need to increase production. Joël Boyer says that “In 2016 we produced between 5,000-6,000 tons of plums, with an extension we could reach between 10,000-12,000 tons”. They will also create employment opportunities as eventually fifty or so employees could be taken on full-time, as well as 200-300 seasonal jobs over the summer.
Boyer will also have a partnership with two local companies who will use the site: a fruit cooperative from the Lot and a national kiwi operator. Joël Boyer says that “It is better to join together, rather than each to their own, to have a larger tonnage, which is optimised, modern and with well-adapted tools and therefore provides a better service for distribution and product traceability.” The works should be finished by the end of 2019.