Netherlands: Peter CV nomiated for two sustainability awards

At the beginning of 2010 Albert Linders and Alex Buermands took over the Dutch onion processing company 'Peter CV'. At the start the owners wanted to have the company running exactly to their specifications by 2015, with sustainability as their main guideline. Two years later and the two gentlemen are well on their way and this hasn't escaped attention from the outside world. Peter CV, as the company was named after the takeover, has been nominated for the Koning Willem I Plaquette as well as the European Business Award for Environment.

Peter CV is specialised in freshly cut white and red onion products, such as clocks, closed rings and strips. "Cutting and peeling is an art, but we've raised the bar. We want to supply the best quality possible, with as little possible", says Alex. "We've managed to double our capacity with the same amount of people, reduced the amount of energy usage per kilo of cut product by 35 to 40% and halved the water use."

The company does not avoid novelties. "We process our leftover products to juice in a socially responsible way and are looking to see what value this can produce for society. We also started using a new cooling system last year, which meets the highest energy standards", says Alex. "Our peeling line has also been renewed, and our base there was that the motor doesn't have to be running when there are no onions on the line. This makes the process a lot calmer and our employees also prefer it."

Peter CV now supplies fastfood chains all over Europe with onion blocks and rings. "And we supply whole onion rings, not slices", emphasizes Alex. In the past year the onion processor has noted an increase in mainly red onion products and grilled onions. "The advantage of, for instance, red onions is that they're relatively cheap, and can give a sandwich a lot of colour and taste. But we're always looking for something new. We're also looking for the possibility to supply cut spring onions."

It's no secret that the onion market has had to deal with big quality problems this and last season. But according to Alex, supplying quality onion products is no problem. "We work with carefully selected growers, who grow according to our wishes and have a strict entry control. Besides this we top and tail extra deeply and accept a higher peel loss, which means we get to higher quality level. But the base is that we get the best onions from the market. We are working with the WUR to take the onion cultivation out of the ground and grow on water. We're convinced this is at least worth investigating!"

Peter CV refuses to join a price battle. "We'll define ourselves with sustainable, innovative impact. We are focussing on a higher segment anyway and we're convinced that as long as we focus on quality and flexibility, we will always find customers. But we keep up the efficiency. We know how many onions have been peeled, sold and picked up every day", concludes Alex.

For more information:
Alex Buermans
Peter CV
Tel: 0031 167-523950
www.petercv.nl