This year, Siebrand Broens stepped into the role of Business Development Manager at Port International's head office in Hamburg, Germany. Siebrand is responsible for finding new products and markets for fruit and vegetables in Europe. This means a lot of time on the road, seeing many things.
Siebrand Broens of Port International.
"In my job, I interact with growers, as well as the end-of-line customer", he says. "I try to find new markets and new products or I try to supply existing products to new customers. I do this for fruit as well as vegetables."
Cultivation area
According to Siebrand, Port International tries to find growers that are not in the same area as their customers. "With regards to cultivation, we focus on countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Morocco", he says. "As for customers, we represent the whole of Europe. This includes Scandinavia. Since we trade in exotic products, we have to go overseas from time to time to search for products. Presently, we get our grapes from South America, but they could just as well come from South Africa. For example, our sweet potatoes come from the United States. Sometimes you have no choice but to source products from across European borders."
Different departments
Port International is divided into different departments. Of these, four are located in Hamburg, and one can be found in Venlo, the Netherlands. "In the Netherlands, Port International Dutch Growers gets produce from, for instance, the Netherlands and Belgium, but also from Spain", Siebrand continues. "At this location, fruit and vegetables are quality tested in order to be traded in Europe.
The 'Banana' and 'Organic' departments are part of the other four departments in Hamburg. Organic bananas, and other organic products are included here. The European Sourcing Department is mainly focused on fruit and vegetables. As part of my job, I deal with all the departments because I focus on fruit and vegetables in general. This applies to both the growers' side and the customers' side. I worked at at Hoogstraten for three years before taking up this position. There I gained knowledge that I can also apply in this job."
For more information:
Siebrand Broens
Port International
1 Lippeltstrasse
D–20097 Hamburg
T: +49-40-30 1000 559
T: +49-40-30 10 00 66