The new facility reflects the latest progress in Cherkizovo’s ongoing investment programme to increase capacity at its Penza poultry cluster.

The total investment in its construction is less than US $42.5 million (1.3 billion roubles).

The facility has an hourly capacity of 8,000 heads and is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment from leading international companies including Meyn, Anglia Autoflow, ATT, Merpasa and DIJI.

All production lines are managed automatically through a centralised computer system, with quality control ensured through the use of specialist video monitoring equipment.

The Petelino Trading House, which co-ordinates the sale of chilled and frozen poultry products to the Volga Federal District and other regions of Russia, is located in a high tech complex within the new facility.

As part of the capacity increase project in Penza, Cherkizovo recently launched the largest hatchery in Russia with an annual capacity of 105 million eggs.

The reconstruction of existing poultry houses and building of the new ones is currently underway, as is the construction of a fodder factory with an annual storage capacity of 300,000 tonnes.

The annual capacity of the Penza poultry cluster was approximately 61,500 tonnes of live weight poultry meat in 2010. The completion of the capacity increase project in 2013 will see that rise to 140,000 tonnes.

Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group, said: "The opening of this new facility in Penza today represents further progress against the Group’s strategy of investing to deliver increased capacity, as well as the highest quality product for our customers.

"The facility is an important part of Cherkizovo’s ongoing investment programme that will see a significant increase in both the production capacity and efficiency of the Penza poultry cluster over the next two years."