New Frankort & Koning construction starts with ground breaking barbecue

Erik Bongaerts

Director Erik Bongaerts of Frankort & Koning thanked the partners Heylen, Fresh Park Venlo and Wijnen Bouw for starting the construction. A special thanks went to the present founder Theo Koning, who started the business with Martin Frankort in 1985.

Centre: founder Theo Koning

Erik sketches the evolution that the company has made from vegetable trader to 'problem solving' fruit and vegetable trader. "We aim for operational excellence. With the increasing volume of imported fruit there was more need for cooling and the old location no longer sufficed, so we had to fix it!"

The trading business has seriously considered moving to another location, but still chose the Fresh Park grounds. "We are on the Ruhr area's doorstep and central compared to the rest of Europe, and this makes Venlo a logistics hotspot. We can work internationally here and the logistic routes by water, road and rail are very important for our future," explained Erik. "From an idea to the start of the construction we have gone through a number of years. This taught us to look at the process differently in the old location and we hope to use this learning curve in the new location."

Congratulations from councillor Stephan Satijn

Ralph Caspanni of Group Heylen, the owner of the location, congratulated the partners with their construction. "The number of pallet places in the building is around 6,500 with the necessary ability to grow within the location. More height means the necessary processing optimalisation. With a 17,000 m2 warehouse, 2,500 m2 office space and the necessary loading docks, Frankort & Koning is a leader in the market."