Quality Control upgrade in food production

Established 15 years ago, Diem-GP LLC is a leading producer of food products, specialized in the processing of fruits and vegetables. The factory is located in the vicinity of Gevgelija, at the entry of s.Negorci. It is accredited with the standards ISO 9001 and ISO 22000, which include the HACCP certificate.

Diem-GP produces 80 different products in various packs and sizes. The product lines are divided into red, green and sweet lines. The red line includes ajvar, lutenica, peperonata, gyuvech, fried vegetable filet, tomato paste, tomato juice, red pepper filet, ketchup, etc. The green line includes pickled gherkins, green chili, mixed salad, beetroot, gamba, roasted sliced zucchini and roasted sliced eggplants. The sweet line focuses on jams and preserves, including green figs jams, ripe figs jams, pumpkin sweets, watermelon sweets, strawberry jams.

All products are high quality, available in different packaging sizes and are sold in the chain of Diem-GP’s own specialized retail outlets in Skopje, Bitola and Gevgelija, as well as in other big and small grocery stores in the entire country.

Diem-GP products are exported to Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia and USA.

The company invested in equipment for finished product inspection for foreign bodies by X-ray in jars, bottles and plastic containers. Apart from enhancing the quality control process, the automation of this process also increases the occupational health and safety of workers and reduces production waste, which is good for the environment.

Importantly, the new quality control process safeguards the success of the company’s export business, where exports are further enhanced as the new equipment meets several EU directives, including:

• Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending Directive 95/16/EC
• Directive 2014/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility (recast)

The company used the simple LET process, which is a fast-rack access to financing investments by picking pre-approved equipment from a list of eligible technologies. After the successful verification of its investment project, the company received a15% grant cash-back, funded by the European Union.