Flanders auction Profruco has invested substantially in storage and refrigeration capacity with the building of a new premises in Vrasene. According to the auction, the official opening is due on 8 November.
“We’d been struggling with a capacity shortage in our Sint-Niklaas auction for several years and were looking for larger premises to cope with our growing supply,” explained managing director Koen Torfs. “So last year we decided to build a new fruit auction in Vrasene. The new complex measures 13,000m2, as big as the entire site of the Sint-Niklaas auction. Here in Vrasene we’ve built for future growth and, of course, we hope that we’ll just carry on growing.”
Mr Torfs highlighted a further new initiative, the night-time loading system, which allows drivers wishing to load up at night to access the site using a code. The system is due to be operational by the end of the year, he revealed.
During the last financial year, some 10,000 tonnes of apples, 20,000 tonnes of pears and 2,000 tonnes of strawberries were supplied to Profruco, worth €22m in turnover. In June 2008, Profruco finished its financial year with a turnover of €26m, up €4m compared with the previous year.
“The renowned quality of Flandria vegetables made it easier for us to instil confidence in the quality fruit we sell under the Flandria label,” Mr Torfs added.
