LocationsThe business from Drăgușeni "with a kernel" of energy efficiency
October 1, 2024
"There are a lot of walnut orchards in our valleys in Hîncești, that's why we decided to open a point of purchase of walnut kernels and later almond kernels as well," says Stela Bucur, an entrepreneur from Drăgușeni village, Hîncești district, who launched in 2011 her business in the field of walnut and almond kernel processing.
It is a family business. The Bucur family buys the raw material from local producers all over the country, processes it, packages it and finally sells the products wholesale.
The processing factory is modern, equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, which enables them to make up for the missing labor force. The entrepreneur now employs five villagers who work side by side with her family.
"In the past few years, we realized that apricot kernels are also in demand and started processing apricot kernels. Recently, there has also been a big demand for plum kernels on the European market, which is why last year we started processing plum kernels as well," says Stela Bucur.
All this time, the entrepreneurs have been selling their products only wholesale and this year, for the first time, they will export them to Romania.
"We dreamed of exporting our products, but it has been a very hard road. It took us over 10 years to be able to export our products to Romania. We hope that this is just the beginning and that in the coming years, walnut, almond, apricot and plum kernels will reach other EU countries," says the entrepreneur.
Two years ago, the Bucur family was planning to stop the business and go abroad. Hit by the energy crisis, the entrepreneurs were incurring huge losses due to a 60% drop in sales and high electricity prices.
With the help of the Austrian Development Agency, through the UNDP project "Emergency support for agri-producers in the context of socio-economic, climate and energy crisis", she was able to purchase a 50 kW biomass boiler, which will streamline both energy costs and the waste management process. Burning biomass directly for heat will reduce energy costs by over 90%.
"Until now we sold husk and bought pellets to heat the building where we work. We sold the husk cheap and bought the pellets expensive. Now, thanks to this boiler, we heat the building with our waste. We will also have hot water," says Stela Bucur.
In 2023, more than 30 tons of walnut, almond, plum and apricot kernels were processed at the Bucur family factory.
