Hamburg, Germany: Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket company, has invested more than €60mn to build a new handling and ripening centre for imported fresh produce
The company says that the new distribution hub in central Hamburg will enable it to double the volume of fruit and vegetables it distributes via the city’s port.
The Fruchtkontor Nord site will supply fresh fruit and vegetables to the company’s Edeka and Netto stores throughout the country.
The new site replaces a previous distribution centre that stood in the same part of Hamburg for several decades.
It covers around 37,000sq metres, and incorporates a 15,600m2 warehouse, 50 banana-ripening rooms, a packing zone and administrative area.
According to Edeka, the expansion makes it possible to double its annual turnover of goods, from around 120,000 pallets to more than 240,000 pallets.
This corresponds to 8,600 trucks of fruit and vegetables – mainly bananas, pineapples, grapes, citrus and exotic fruits – sourced from all over the world.
The building has a solar energy system and is heated using the warmth created by its own refrigerators, which enables it to operate without using any fossil fuels like natural gas.
Edeka chief executive Markus Mosa said the new centre underlined the company’s commitment to a sustainable food supply. “We are not only significantly expanding our capacities, but at the same time setting the highest standards in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency,” he said.
