As market optimism for the parbaked and frozen bread category continues unfettered, Belgian group Pattyn Packing Lines has announced that it has acquired a 69 per cent majority stake in leading French equipment supplier to the sector, De La Ballina.

Stan Pattyn, sales and project director at the Bruges based company, said that frozen bread manufacturers are set to gain from the alliance of core competencies in automated and semi-automated control and packaging of bulk products into lined cases.

"Producers can leverage the greater scope of the combined businesses and ensure continuity of their packaging line," he said.

He said that a fundamental driver of the company's growth strategy was to increase its customer base in the frozen bread industry to capitalize on the buoyancy and recent consolidation in the segment.