Major Dutch fresh produce import-export group Olympic Food, a leading supplier to supermarket chains in the Netherlands, has announced plans to build a new distribution centre in Barendrecht, near Rotterdam in the south of Holland.
As reported in the Financieele Dagblad, the new 80,000m2 facility planned for the Nieuw-Reijerwaard industrial area of Barendrecht will cost around €50m-€100m and will employ between 200 and 400 staff.
Olympic Food recently acquired a 50 per cent stake in baked goods supplier Bakkerij Dam, and it is expected that the new centre will house the production activities of this division, which are currently based at two separate locations.
The facility will complement Olympic's existing 12,000m2 premises in Barendrecht and, according to reports, could help it achieve an increase in annual turnover to €1bn targeted by director Thijs van den Heuvel, compared with the current €400m.
Barendrecht is already home to a number of major names in the Dutch fresh produce business, including The Greenery-Hagé, Bakker Barendrecht, Jaguar Fruit, AgroFair, Verdi Import and, from this month, Hillfresh International.
