When producing tomatoes on 12 hectares in hydroponics, you need to be well organized. "As well as differentiated, - says Alessio Orlandi of H2Orto - since we have been expanding the range of our offer in the past months. In addition to cluster tomatoes, which are about 65% of our total production, we also have the following varieties: cocktail, "extra" cluster and high quality small cherry tomato".
Alessio Orlandi and Filippo Fiorini.
The super-technological greenhouse of Ostellato (Ferrara) is the sector's flagship at an Italian level (see FreshPlaza of 26/01/2018). At the moment, the prices are normal for all varieties: "We have almost exclusively fixed contracts - says the sales manager - therefore quantity and price are stable. Of course, in this period we have received many requests, above our production capacity, which we could not satisfy".
The inside of a greenhouse.
Because of the current situation, the corporate reorganization is causing an increase in costs, "but at the moment we have absorbed this surplus of expenditure as a company, without transferring it to customers. The collaborators enter the greenhouse in groups of 5 every 15 minutes, so as to avoid crowding and to work at a distance. A fortune, or a foresight depending on how you want to define it, lies in the fact that the processing lines had already been designed and built to give operators space, so we didn't have to make any changes".
The new H2Orto packaging.
Regarding the sales trend, Orlandi stresses that, in a first phase, the Italian large-scale retailers had variable requests, that is, a lot of product at the beginning of the week and then less in the following days. The same thing happened in Germany and Austria, but with a delay of 15 days compared to Italy. Now the situation has normalized and the requests are regular again.
Contacts
Alessio Orlandi - sales manager
H2ORTO
Via delle Serre 1
44020 Ostellato (Ferrara)
Tel.: +39 0533 57411
Email: alessio.orlandi@f-gh.it
Web: www.h2orto.it