Lamb Weston temporarily closes production line in the Netherlands

Potato processor Lamb Weston temporarily closes a production line in the Netherlands. This is mentioned as a side note in a press release announcing a complete closure of a factory in Argentina. Production is moving to a new facility. Details about the temporary closure in the Netherlands, such as which location it concerns, are not disclosed. In 2024, Lamb Weston opened an entirely new factory in Kruiningen. Factory closure In Argentina, Lamb Weston is closing a complete factory in Munro, Buenos Aires, where frozen potato products were produced. In 2024, the American company took over the remaining shares from former joint venture partner SCP (Sociedad Comercial del Plata). The factory produced nearly 60,000 tons of frozen fries and potato snacks annually, which were sold under local brands in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. In 2019, the Argentine branch of Lamb Weston entered into a joint venture with local player SCP. Before that, the factory belonged to Farm Frites, which bought the production site from an Argentine player in 1996 and also operated it with SCP. They stopped doing so in 2014. Among other reasons, due to high inflation, interest rates, and the unfavorable exchange rate of the peso. New factory Farm Frites had advanced plans to build a new large factory in the port city of Mar del Plata, near the capital. This did not happen because a necessary gas pipeline was never built. Ultimately, it was Lamb Weston that built a new factory in the city, which opened last October. Production from Munro will move to this location. The factory can process 90,000 tons of potatoes annually. These choices are part of a broader strategy that aims to ensure higher efficiency and profitability, said raw materials director Sylvia Wilks. Managing costs across our entire chain is necessary to provide value to our customers and to be able to invest in other production locations. These choices are part of the 'Focus to Win' strategy that the publicly traded company announced earlier. Stock price In mid-December, Lamb Weston presented its financial figures for the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The sold volume increased, but at significantly lower prices. A volume of 8% more was sold, especially in Asia and North America. Shareholders were not pleased with the news and the future prospects, causing the stock price to take a significant dive. Prior to the press release, the stock price on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted to its lowest price level since early 2017, at a price of $40.29 per share.