“Flexibility in real estate is a must”

Fresh Park Venlo is located in a logistical hotspot, and is therefore a link between the import and export ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp and the German and European markets. Although a large share of the products is still shipped to Germany, the business park wants to be a food hub for all of Europe.

The industrial revolution of the Ruhr Area has played an important part in the founding and development of the business park. The region in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia used to be a regular rural region, and grew into one of the largest industrial regions in Europe. About 20 million people now live in North Rhine-Westphalia, located directly to the east of Fresh Park Venlo. “One hundred years ago, my grandparents grew vegetables for the Ruhr, and that has never changed,” says Jan Vorstermans, who has worked for Fresh Park Venlo as business developer for 18 years now.

In the late 1950s, an auction manager and a chairperson bought a piece of bare land near the German border together after an auction merger. “The Dutch motorway A67 didn’t even exist yet, but the investment turned out to be a strategic move,” Jan says. “Auction halls were constructed, and the first commercial properties for buyers who bought at auction for export to Germany soon followed.In 60 years, something that started with 40 hectares grew into a business park of 135 hectares. The auction site was later rechristened Zon Fresh Park, and it’s been called Fresh Park Venlo since 2008. The unique thing about our business park is that we own the land ourselves. We organise the entire park and facilitate the buildings. It has been that way since it was founded. Combined with access to North Rhine Westphalia, plus the fact that we’re the second-largest production area in the Netherlands, this led to us becoming a proper logistical hot spot for fresh products.”

Fresh Park Venlo is accessible by motorway, rail, inland navigation and air. Jan says the multimodal transport solutions play an important part in efficient and sustainable fresh transport. “Nowadays, a lot of fruit arrives in containers, which we can receive from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp within a few hours. However, more and more containers are supplied by boat. Ten years ago, we started with the Fresh Corridor project. People were skeptical during the first few years, but practical advantages have now become very clear. Containers that have to be quickly processed obviously arrive per truck, but the rest can easily be transported per boat. The labour process also benefits from this, because it is exactly clear when the products are in Venlo, and the containers can then be unloaded efficiently one by one.” Sustainability in the transport of goods even takes it one step further. For instance, tests are being conducted with electric trucks and alternative fuels.

Nowadays, the site houses more than 100 companies that are active in the fresh sector. This includes many commercial enterprises, but wholesalers, processing companies, logistical service providers, packing companies and the like have also found their place at Fresh Park Venlo. Jan mentions that about half the products come from the region, a quarter comes from the rest of the Netherlands and Belgium, and the remaining share concerns import products. Of the products to be traded, at least 70 to 75 per cent is transported to Germany. “The Fresh Park inhabitants aren’t exclusively active in the fresh produce sector, for that matter. Meat and dairy production also takes place here, as well as logistics, among other things. We’re a hub in the conditioned supply chain. All warehouse and transports at the site are conditioned, and companies can actually boost each other regarding distribution.”

About three quarters of the buildings is owned by Fresh Park Venlo and leased. “Facilitating real estate is our basis and our strength to become the European food hub. We’re headed in the right direction with fresh produce, and we see plenty of development opportunities for the other food branches as well.” Jan expects the expansion will mostly be found in (fresh produce) processing and packing. As an example, he mentions the sorting and packing of blueberries, which has taken enormous flight in recent years. Import products, including melons, mangoes, avocados and blueberries, also take up an increasingly larger share. “Venlo is a key player for destinations such as Germany, but also for Austria, Switzerland and further away. Various business houses have opened a branch here or work with partners in Venlo. From the Fresh Park, it’s possible to resupply all of Germany within 24 hours.”

The key to becoming and remaining a European food hub is flexibility in real estate. “Whether it’s a newly constructed commercial property, the expansion of a starting entrepreneur, or leasing additional cold store, it all requires flexibility. In principle, we always have room available. It’s even possible to lease a cooling cell for just one week, because we’re such a large cluster. Whether it concerns large companies or smaller start-ups, together we ensure millions of Europeans are provided with fresh products every day. We’re completely set up to that end, and we encourage cooperation and the development of new food products and services. In the next few years, we mostly want to be flexible enough to grow along with the food entrepreneurs in the scaling up stage (processing, drying, pressing, ingredients), an important market for us and for the future of the food branch.” Fresh Park Venlo still has plenty of room available for new commercial properties. Besides, the site offers opportunities for densification by replacing old buildings with new, smarter buildings.

Fresh Park Venlo

Jan Vorstermans