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AGROS FORTUNA Sp. z o.o. (Ltd) was spun off from Agros Holding S.A. (a
Joint Stock Company founded in 1990) in March 2000. As a result of
the spin-off, Agros Fortuna took over the manufacture of fruit and
vegetable products, formerly in the hands of Agros Holding. This area
of the Agros Fortuna's activities was symbolically reflected in the
word Fortuna, a brand name created by Agros Holding, one of the strongest
companies in Poland's juice market.
In addition to Fortuna, including Fortuna Karotka,
the company owned three equally well-known brands:
Łowicz, Krakus, and Tarczyn, which became
milestones in the Polish food and vegetable processing industry. With
these brands, a wide range of products, many years of experience in
the industry supported by up-to-date technology and
professional management,
Agros Fortuna has become the largest and second largest company in
particular segments of the fruit and vegetable sector.
The brands Łowicz, Fortuna,
Tarczyn, and Krakus were brought by the company into Agros Nova. Alongside
its brands, the unbreakable link that connects Agros Nova with Agros
Fortuna and its mother company is a processing plant in Łowicz, which
will be celebrating its 40th anniversary next year.
Łowicz in Agros
The processing plant in Łowicz has been in operation
since 1965. It was in that year that the brand name ŁOWICZ
was born, which today is one of Poland's best-known food
brands.
The company was named The Fruit and Vegetable Processing Plant ŁOWICZ.
It employed 340 people and incorporated the Łódź Wine Factory and the
Wooden Packaging Factory in Andrzejów near Sochaczew.
In the early seventies a Corporate Research & Development
Centre was opened and located in adapted facilities.
The Centre was responsible for developing new products
and technologies. In 1975 the company employed as many
as 1700 people and manufactured jams, stewed fruit drinks,
juices, and tinned meat with vegetables.
In the late seventies extension and modernisation work
was launched at the Łowicz factory. The work included
modernising the cold store facilities, extending the
tomato processing line and buildings as well as the warehouses
for finished goods. Many minor projects were also implemented.
In 1985-87 fruit concentrate production facilities
were built from scratch together with a storage tank
bay.
In 1987 the Łódź Wine Factory was spun off from the
company. A few years later the Wood Packaging Plant
in Andrzejów was passed over to the Fruit and Vegetable
Industry Automation Company in Bielawa. Łowicz launched
the first carrot juices in the Polish market, sold
under the brand name Karotka.
In December 1990 the company was incorporated into
Agros Holding S.A. and renamed ZPOW (Fruit & Vegetable
Processing Company) Agros Łowicz. In the following
years, it underwent a number of changes to meet the
requirements of the free market economy. The company
was thoroughly reorganised and modern management
and storage methods were introduced. New technological
lines were bought and the company's buildings were
refurbished. A new brand name, Fortuna, appeared
on the market.
In 1995 a picnic was held to celebrate the company's
30th anniversary, which was attended by more than
one thousand employees.
In March 2002 a new company, Agros Fortuna Sp. z o.o.
(Ltd), was spun off from the Agros Holding Group
to take responsibility for processing fruit and vegetables.
In addition to the Łowicz factory, two other processing
plants, in Białystok and Tarczyn, were incorporated
into the newly formed company.
The years 2000-2001 were a period of far-reaching changes.
These included verifying the company's product portfolio
and carrying out an operational restructuring process.
The company decided to focus its activities on brand
name products and reduced its product range from
600 to about 200 items. Also, marketing and distribution
expenditures were increased. Agros Fortuna, with
its brand name Łowicz, became the largest producer
of jams and tomato preserves and the second largest
producer of juices, drinks and nectars with brands
such as Fortuna, Karotka, and Tarczyn.
On 16 January Agros Fortuna was acquired by Polish
Enterprise Fund, an organisation managed by Enterprise
Investors. It was then that that a process began
to merge Agros Fortuna with Sonda S.A. (Joint Stock
Company), in which Enterprise Investors also held
shares. The merger was finally completed on 29 December
2003, when Agros Nova Sp. z o.o. (Ltd) was established.
Today the Łowicz factory is one of three factories
owned by Agros Nova, and the brand name Łowicz is
one of six strategic brands in its product portfolio.
 
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