McCain Foods is investing in one of its three manufacturing facilities in France to modernise the factory and add a new packaging line.

The Canada-based french fries business is putting EUR17m (US$20m) into the plant in Béthune, a town in the Hauts-de-France region in the north of the country where McCain Foods marked its entry in 1981 and now employs more than a 1,000 people.

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McCain’s latest project builds on EUR125m of investments ploughed into its facilities in France and Europe over the past five years, it said in a statement. The Béthune facility is a 92,000 square-meter site established in 1986 and employing around 230 staff. It currently has two production lines – one for frozen french fries and the other for dehydrated potato flakes.

Erwin Pardon, the company’s president in Europe, said France is at the centre of McCain’s growth strategy and development in the region.

“This investment of EUR17m in Béthune is the first in a series to be rolled out by McCain by 2026. They will enable the group to make its production sites even more attractive, particularly on a regional scale, and competitive within the sector,” Pardon added.

McCain’s two other facilities in France are located at Harnes in the Pas-de-Calais department of Hauts-de-France, and Matougues, located in Marne in north-eastern France and regarded as the company’s largest production site in Europe.

It said 30% of group sales are generated in France, making it the top European market for the company. As a privately-owned business, McCain does not disclose its financial results but notes on its website that global sales amount to more than CAD10bn (US$7.9bn).