The honorary president of the ARC Group Eurobanan, Ángel Rey Rodríguez, died during the night of July 29th at the age of 85. A visionary and a pioneer in the importation of fruits and vegetables in Spain, the founder of Grupo Ángel Rey was noted for his ability to forge one of the most powerful companies in the national fruit and vegetable sector.
His passion for the fruit market was the result of an entrepreneurial spirit and a vocation nurtured since childhood. His father, Ramón Rey Faidel, was installed as a wholesaler in the Mercado de la Cebada (Madrid) in 1918 and later in the Mercado de Legazpi, where Angel Rey, after the Civil War, recast the company.
Since 1986, the expansion and internationalization of the Group, which today has become Eurobanan ARC, a leading fruit and vegetable distribution company in Spain, begin in Mercamadrid.
A passionate entrepreneur, his vision led him to create a complicated and unknown business in the late 70s, importing tropical and exotic fruits out of season. In this decade, the business pioneered the introduction of pineapples from Cameroon and Ivory Coast and developed the first hydroponic cultivation of endives. In Spain, in the 80s, he unveiled the New Zealand Kiwis; and 90s, vegetables from Morocco and Northern Europe, mangoes and a wide range of fruits. Over the years and the inclusion of their three children to the company, Ángel Rey managed to continue and promote the expansion of one of the most successful fruit and vegetable companies of Spain.