We’re excited to announce that our plans to expand internationally are official, marked by the acquisition of a food safety inspection company in France! As our first European operation, this represents a significant milestone in our global growth strategy, which also includes plans to expand into the Canadian market.
“Our expansion into international markets marks an important step in FlexXray’s growth and evolution,” said Ken Forster, Chief Executive Officer. “Our proven inspection process and technology has helped thousands of food and consumer product manufacturers in North America and we’re excited to help more producers salvage safe product potentially impacted by foreign material contamination.”
Strategically positioned in France, the facility offers optimal transportation accessibility for manufacturers throughout Europe, including major markets in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Northern Europe. Our market research identified a substantial opportunity, as European producers face foreign material challenges at similar frequencies to their North American counterparts while having limited access to industry-leading inspection and remediation solutions.
Leadership for European Growth
To lead the European expansion, we have appointed Selma Lazreq as Country Manager for France. Lazreq has held numerous positions across the European food industry, most recently as Country Manager at yfood Labs in France. She will oversee our French operations and spearhead market entry and growth strategies.
Strengthening North American Presence
Simultaneously, we’re actively pursuing growth opportunities in Canada, with site selection underway in the Toronto region. The planned Canadian facility will enable us to better serve Canadian food producers with enhanced proximity and faster turnaround times.
We’re currently recruiting for key leadership positions in Canada, including a Country Manager and commercial team managers to support the market launch.
Advanced Technology Capabilities
Both the French and Canadian facilities will be equipped with our advanced X-ray inspection technologies alongside our new CT (computed tomography) capabilities. These advanced technologies enable us to detect contaminants at significantly smaller sizes than typical in-line systems and help find foreign materials such as dense rubber and plastic more effectively than most traditional X-ray systems.
Serving Enterprise Food Manufacturers at Scale
The international expansion reinforces our position as the market leader for external foreign material inspection services. With six U.S. inspection facilities and a 24-year track record of accurate, reliable inspections for thousands of food manufacturers, we are well-positioned to support enterprise food manufacturers worldwide.
“Our expansion internationally not only allows us to serve manufacturers based in these new regions, but also enables us to support the global operations of our existing U.S.-based enterprise manufacturers who have production facilities across Europe and Canada,” said Kurt Westmoreland, Chief Commercial Officer.
If you have questions or would like more information on a sample test for your current product hold(s), contact us today.
