Westfalia Fruit France announced the construction of its new facility, scheduled to be operational in November 2022. The facility, located in Graveson in the province area of the south of France, will include avocado storage, ripening rooms and packing capability to support Westfalia’s pan-European operations.

“The Graveson site is a significant addition to our existing European operations and will work closely with our existing site in Paris and across Europe to ensure we continue to deliver consistent high-quality avocados to new and existing customers,” says Paulina Criticos, Westfalia Fruit’s CEO for EMEA.

Criticos adds, “The benefit of building a new site is that we can ensure it is fit for the future, incorporating cutting-edge technology and building materials including thermal insulation, motion detectors in common areas and renewable energy.”

The production facility has been designed with the highest level of environmental and food safety requirements in mind, according to the company. Westfalia’s ripening property has been applied in the ripening rooms that have been designed with technology that allows avocados and other exotic fruits to ripen according customer specifications. The packhouse will reportedly double the production capability of the company's French operations and enable the group to serve a wider geographical customer base. The company says that the Graveson packhouse will enable Westfalia Fruit to further increase its market share in Europe.