In the early 1990s, Angelo Antresini realised the importance of the ago-industrial industry for former Soviet Union countries and started to look for contacts in Poland, Czech Republic and Baltic countries. In 1992, he started shipping table grapes, citrus fruit and kiwis. "He was a pioneer as there was no free trade at the time," explains Luigi Antresini, his nephew and sales manager for Nava srl.
Things went so well that a branch (Tredi) was also opened in Bielsko Biala, Poland. Over the years, Tredi grew and became a well-structured independent company.
FruitBona white grapes sold in Poland.
In 2002, Antresini established Nava srl with the objective of promoting Italian specialities in some new markets requiring high quality standards.
After selecting the various distributors and defining the quality and organoleptic characteristics needed, the company started producing under a series of brands that, over the years, have become synonym with high-quality fruit.
In Poland, the perfect distributor for Nava products was Tredi. The reference product from Puglia was table grapes, sold to various retailer chains (Tredi has been the sole grape supplier for Carrefour Poland for 12 years). The Fruit Bona brand had been doing particularly well (the name is a homage to Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland).
In the meantime, the Polish market also grew, so much so that it became very demanding and competitive. "In order to maintain our leadership and guarantee our services, Nava acquired Tredi."
Nava at the latest edition of Fruit Logistica.
Left to right: Luigi Antresini, Elio Pirulli, Marzia Fazio, Licia Sabatelli and Urszula Densna.
Poland is a strategic country, it has become a logistics hub for exports towards nearby countries (Ukraine, Belarus, etc.) and, therefore, "Nava now manages to provide excellent services also for these countries, who enjoy Italian specialities."
The shipments of 2016 table grapes have recently left for Poland, though only the Vittoria and Black Magic varieties are in full production. "We will have to wait a while for the others (like Palieri), because ripening is around ten days late due to the recent temperature drops."
Contacts:
Nava S.r.l.
Via G. Falcone, 8/b
70018 Rutigliano (BA) - Italia
Tel.: (+39) 080 477 04 44
Fax: (+39) 080 476 19 98
Email: info@navasrl.com
Web: www.navasrl.com
Author: Andrea Minghelli
Copyright: www.freshplaza.it