KÉSZ Group has started construction of a €45 million edible oil factory near Turda in Romania, as a group of 21 Transylvanian farmers moves beyond crop production into large-scale processing.
The plant is being developed in Mihai Viteazu, Cluj County, for Cooperativa Agricolă Podișul Transilvaniei and will have capacity to process around 600 tonnes of sunflower seed every 24 hours. Production is currently expected to start around spring 2028.
The project is one of the cooperative’s largest steps toward vertically integrating its agricultural operations. Its 21 members collectively farm more than 33,000 hectares across central Romania.
Farmers put their own capital into €45 million project
The project has secured €10 million from European Union funds, around €9 million from the farmers themselves and approximately €17 million in bank financing. An additional second phase, focused on refining, is expected to require around €10 million. Earlier project plans put total investment at €45 million.
The factory will include seed silos, multi-storey processing buildings, storage facilities for meal, tanks, auxiliary buildings and specialist infrastructure for the extraction process. According to KÉSZ, the project requires special foundations, substantial quantities of monolithic reinforced concrete and dedicated steel structures for the processing technology.
Energy production is also being incorporated into the development. Plans include photovoltaic capacity and battery storage for self-consumption, while residues from oil production could also contribute to the plant’s energy requirements.
600 tonnes of sunflower seed a day
At full capacity, the factory will be able to process 600 tonnes of sunflower seed per day, giving the cooperative an industrial-scale outlet for crops produced by its members.
The investment comes in one of Europe’s most important sunflower-producing markets. Romania produced around 2.06 million tonnes of sunflower seed in 2025 and ranked first in the European Union by both cultivated area and production.
