On Friday, November 20th the Staay Food Group signed a contract for the construction of a new location for Fresh Care in Dronten, The Netherlands. The new building will be a few hundred meters away from the current location, which is located in the 'Gate of Dronten' business park, and is expected to be completed in early 2017. Staay owns a 79 acre site in Dronten. The new location will have a floor space of 28,000 square meters.
In Dronten, Fresh Care has a turnover of 80 million Euro, and the company expects an increase of more than 10% (annually) in the coming years, "Our turnover is on the rise, but the current building is quite small and the shortage of space is limiting our growth. Currently, we have 350 people employed in Dronten, but we expect that number to rise to more than 500 in the starting phase of the new location," says director Rien Panneman.
"We started here in Dronten in 2001 when we acquired Hoeve Dronten, and that has proven a good move for us. The market for fresh cut fruits and vegetables is on the rise. The number of players on the Dutch market is well distributed. Everyone has their regular customers, proving the formation of long-term relationships. That is something you can invest in," explains Panneman. "We still see plenty of room in the market, especially in our most important market, Germany, where convenience is becoming increasingly important."
The director likes the location in Dronten, "We have a good relationship with the city government and have received full cooperation. The city convinced us to choose Dronten. The city government has put in a great deal of work to help us. It just feels right," says Rien.
The Signing