Alpoma APO brings together Vog, Vip, and Vog Products, who together will focus on R&D, sustainability and new commercial projects
Three of Italy’s leading apple producer organisations have formed a new association, in a move designed to strengthen their members’ activities in R&D, energy, natural resources, and jointly managed commercial partnerships.
Known as Alpoma, the association of producer organisations brings together Vog and Vip, two of South Tyrol’s largest fruit marketers, and Vog Products, which specialises in turning fruits – primarily apples, but also pears, peaches, kiwifruit, and apricots – into premium processed products.
It brings together more than 6,000 individual growers who together manage an area of about 18,000 hectares and can supply more than a million tonnes of apples each year.
The new APO was presented today in Terlan, near Bolzano, by its founding members’ respective chairmen Georg Kössler (Vog), Thomas Oberhofer (Vip) and Johannes Runggaldier (Vog Products).
While the move maintains each company’s autonomy and identity, and therefore does not constitute a merger, it is expected to allow for more efficient and coordinated activities that further develop the region’s fruit industry.
As such, Alpoma’s responsibilities will include coordinating the research and management of new apple varieties and carrying out research and development projects for the South Tyrolean fruit industry in cooperation with the world-renowned Laimburg Research Centre.
Environmental measures will also be strengthened with the expansion of renewable energy sources, the implementation of water treatment systems for sustainable resource use, and other innovative solutions for optimising production processes.
The APO will also improve cooperation in investments, starting with processed products managed by Vog Products.
Stronger together
The association, which is headed by chairman Georg Kössler and CEO Walter Pardatscher (also CEO of Vog), will be based at Vog’s headquarters, the House of Apples in Terlano.
“Alpoma originates from the idea of strength through collaboration,” explained Kössler. “Thanks to this new organisation, we will be able to better coordinate existing collaborations and, if necessary, enhance and strengthen them. Other areas, such as production and sales, will continue to be managed independently by Vog, Vip and Vog Products. Producers and trading partners will therefore keep the same contact persons and procedures.”
The name Alpoma was chosen as a reference to the local area – the Italian Alps – and the members’ primary product, apples.
