The Edeka Group will open a new banana-ripening installation in Borna, 30 km south of Leipzig, in the third quarter of 2017. Last week the groundbreaking took place, together with local politicians, on the future site at Stauffenbergstraße. Soon about 286 million bananas per year (2.6 million crates) will ripen here and then be transported to the storage facilities of Edeka and the discounter, Netto Marken, in the east of Germany. The Edeka Group invested about 7 million Euros in the construction of the ultra-modern installation. The banana-ripening installation created 10 to 14 new jobs in the course of the construction.
Bananas are the most popular product in the fruit and vegetable department of German supermarkets. Edeka Fruchtkontor, part of the Edeka headquarters in Hamburg, ensures the efficient supply of high quality bananas to regional supermarkets with the new ripening installation in Borna. On an area of 90 by 45 meters, 38 ripening rooms will be built. In these rooms, under controlled conditions and in approximately five days, the fruit ripens to an ideal point. The bananas, cultivated in Central and South America are still green when they arrive by ship in Europe. After their arrival they are transported from Hamburg, Rotterdam or Antwerp to the banana-ripening installation in Borna.
The construction takes strict environmental standards in consideration. The energy management system is ISO 50001 certified, which means that, at the Borna site, an energy concept will be implemented that conserves natural resources and reduces CO2 emissions. Furthermore, a solar PV power system is being installed on the roof of the building and a cogeneration plant, a gas-operated plant that combines the generation of heat and power with a cold absorption system, is also being installed.
Edeka currently operates in Hamburg, Roisdorf and near Stuttgart three banana-ripening installations. The managing organization is Edeka Fruchtreiferei, a subsidiary of Edeka Hamburg, while EDEKA Fruchtkontor deals with the purchasing and sales of the fruit and vegetables. With the aid of more than five purchasing offices and three logistics platforms, Fruchtkontor handles yearly about 2.3 million metric tons of fruit and vegetables from more than 1,000 producers from 96 countries.
For more information:
Edeka Zentrale AG & Co. KG
New-York-Ring 6
22297 Hamburg
Contact person: Mr. Gernot Kasel
Phone: (040) 6377 - 2182
E-Mail: presse@edeka.de