OXNARD, CA – Making a significant stride into the European market, Mission Produce announced today that it has completed the construction of its first Ripe Center in Breda, The Netherlands. The company’s new Ripe Center is its first in Europe, and is strategically located near Rotterdam and Antwerp—the primary ports for importing avocados into Europe.

“The European market is developing rapidly in terms of overall avocado consumption, and is actually growing at a faster rate than North America.” President & CEO Steve Barnard noted in a press release. “Our expectation is that this growth will continue, and the ability to provide ripe fruit to our customer base will position Mission to capitalize on that growth. Mission has long been the leader in ripening in North America. We will be able to extend our deep understanding of the ripening process and technology and provide the same level of service in Europe.”

While the company has been operating in Europe for several years, this latest addition promises to grow Mission's production capabilities throughout the entire year.

“We provide fruit in Europe from three primary countries of origin—Peru, Mexico, and Chile—and our new Ripe Center stages us for expansion regardless of seasonality and origin,” said Vice President of Sales & Marketing Brent Scattini. "Adding the Ripe Center allow us to service our customer’s needs by providing ripe fruit in consistent volume throughout the year.”

Mission has operated a distribution center in Breda, in the Mooy Logistics terminal, since 2012. The company recently expanded the facility to include four, three-tiered ripe rooms with the capacity for 36 pallets each—144 total.

“We have been providing fruit to the European market for over 5 years, both through direct customer imports, as well as through our facility in Breda,” explained Ine Potting, Managing Director. “By adding ripening capacity, we can offer more value-added services to our customer base here.”

Mission’s engineering team oversaw the construction of the company’s new ripe rooms. Using energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly technology, the company constructed a three-tier racking system that is the first of its kind in Europe. The extended height of the rooms is intended to increase both capacity and efficiency. The design of the installation and the chosen components meet the demands of the EIA 2015, and will provide the company with an energy savings of 15 percent over standard ripening systems.

For more on facility expansions in the produce industry, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

Mission Produce