History
We travel back through time to 1904. And although fruit growing in the Betuwe region is developing well, there is a lack of organised activity. Growers work individually, fruit planting is random and sales are uncoordinated. At a certain point, the growers slowly started to realise that they needed to introduce some structure. They put their heads together and after some teething problems, they finally set up the ‘Veiling Vereniging Geldermalsen en Omstreken' [an auction house for Geldermalsen and the vicinity] on the 4th of May 1904. The 34 members enthusiastically awaited their very first cherry auction in one of the member's barns. Initially, their initiative seemed doomed to failure. But, all of a sudden, a man pushing a wheelbarrow appeared and one of the members cried: Look over there! Three baskets of cherries!' Legendary words that marked the beginning of Fruitmasters.
The first cherry auction in 1904
The first faltering steps ...
However important it seemed, three baskets of cherries hardly signals a major breakthrough. Establishing and maintaining the auction without all too many financial resources was quite a struggle. The simplest tasks such as finding a location and providing baskets to display the fruit almost brought the Veilingvereniging Geldermalsen en Omstreken down at the first hurdle. But in 1907 they finally had their own auction house and had purchased some brown baskets. Even reaching a consensus about the right system caused a few headaches. Luckily, matters started to improve when they purchased an electric bidding machine. Banning underhand sales of fruit on the auction site also went some way to improving the situation. The first steps had been taken...
Internal transport using a roller conveyor, a leap forward in 1909
Rapid developments...
Looking back, we can safely say that the Veilingvereniging Geldermalsen en Omstreken experienced a period of turbulent development. While the produce on offer at auctions was initially limited to cherries, apples, pears, other Betuwe fruit soon followed. Transport was still arranged by a third party and was restricted to rail and water in 1922, but a year later they purchased their first transport vehicle. In 1925 a concerted effort was made towards creating an organised cooperative. The auction association organised demonstrations and lectures, offered to mediate in placing bee-hives and rented machinery to growers. The association gradually began to flourish and in 1929 the blood, sweat and tears of the first members was finally rewarded; a celebration in style of their 25th jubilee!
The auction rooms, with the director's home on the left in 1928
Facing the future...
The years between 1929 and 1994 were a busy period for the auction. The first cold store was built and their own, highly popular monthly magazine saw its first edition. As improvements and expansion in fruit growing started to move at an accelerated pace, the members decided to form a cooperative in 1948; the ‘Coöperatieve Fruitveiling Geldermalsen EO' came into being. The auction continued to grow, but dark clouds appeared on the horizon. In the 1960s, foreign competition was fiercer than ever. Demands placed on quality rose to unknown heights and all stakeholders had to do their utmost best to cope with the pressure on the national and international markets. The fruit growers' crises in 1966 and 1980 did not improve things. By critically scrutinising the entire process and implementing reorganisation, the cooperative managed to keep its head above water. The 1980s saw many investments in cold storage facilities and special machines. The packaging possibilities were also closely examined; improvements were introduced and new packaging added. In 1994 the Fruitveiling Geldermalsen reached its 90th year, with many years still ahead...
The cherry auction in 1958
29 November 1986, H.M. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opens the new office premises
100th Jubilee!
Of course, the Coöperatieve Fruitveiling Geldermalsen wasn't the only auction in the Netherlands. To improve efficiency and increase the turnover, three auction houses decided to merge. Groente- en fruitveiling Rijn-Waal-Maas B.V., Fruitveiling ‘Wijk bij Duurstede en omstreken' and Fruitveiling Geldermalsen continued under the name Fruitmasters. In 2001 Nico de Jong B.V., a trading company that mainly concentrates on the southern hemisphere, joined the group. As customers started to increasingly demand a wider assortment, the decision was made to takeover the Citronas Group in 2003. Citronas already enjoyed a solid reputation in exotic fruit from overseas. The knowledge and experience of the companies within the group (MFL and Indigo SAS) contributed to consolidating the market position of the Fruitmasters Group. Fruitmasters can now offer a total fruit package. The organisation started in 1904 was still very much alive and active in 2004 to celebrate its 100th Jubilee! This milestone was acknowledged by the award of the Royal predicate to Fruitmasters. Over the past century it has grown from humble beginnings to become an extension of the growers with a turnover in excess of 300 million euros.
Growth and progress...
As growth is frequently partnered by expansion, Fruitmasters broadened its activities in 2004 with the addition of a soft fruit packing station. This station allows Fruitmasters to serve the market optimally. Retail customers can use their own private label for soft fruit. But Fruitmasters also offers an own label for fruit with a distinctive character. All the produce can be presented in an extremely wide range of packaging. In 2005, the installation of a conditioning system at the Geldermalsen location started, intended to create a closed cooling chain to safeguard fruit quality. During Fruitmasters' closed cooling chain the fruit is constantly stored under protected and controlled conditions throughout every stage of its journey from grower to shelf. In 2006 two high speed cold stores we added to provide even better quality safeguards for packaged soft fruit. These special cold stores, in the form of tunnels, can cool soft fruit to a temperature of 2 to 3˚C in the space of between an hour and a half to two hours. Finally, in April 2005 the first trees were planted in the three hectare demonstration fields in Geldermalsen. This new demo area allows Fruitmasters to replicate the entire chain literally from field to fork, so optimal attention can be devoted to quality improvement measures.
Why do it the hard way...
In 2006 Royal FruitmastersGroup took over fruit processing concern Ready Fruit in Hedel. Ready Fruit's specialism is processing fresh fruit products, such as fruit salad and fruit components.
Experience health...
Raising consumer awareness of the fact that eating certain types of fruit is beneficial to health is a task that Fruitmasters considers vital. Fruitmasters wants to bring consumers closer to the very essence of the fantastic product fruit, by subjecting them to a true fruit experience. One of the ways is by providing information to consumers and organising tastings during specially planned events.
Enhanced service provision and quality...
Mr Keereweer, member of the Provincial Executive in the province of Gelderland, officially opened the new container centre in January 2008. The arrival of the Container Centre on the Fruitmasters site in Geldermalsen has considerably enhanced the levels of service provision for its members and customers. As well as improving service provision, Fruitmasters' objective is continuing to add distinctive added value to its brand name by providing superior quality produce. To this end, Fruitmasters Expressive Research was started in 2008. Within this joint-venture Fruitmasters collaborates with various parties to create a structural improvement in fruit quality. To achieve this, a molecular test has been developed, which can be used to predict the optimal time to harvest apples and pears.
The next 100 years...
By continually engaging in a process of development since its origins back in 1904, Fruitmasters has been able to grow into one of the major, influential players on the European fruit market over the past century. And in the coming decades, Royal FruitmastersGroup is committed to realising the goals outlined in its corporate mission and strategy; paying a decisive contribution towards achieving the highest possible prices for its members, and fully satisfying the expectations of its customers by providing them with the right products and services.