Two South Australian firms join Premier Fruits Group

Two South Australian companies have joined forces with Australia’s fastest growing fruit and vegetable company, Premier Fruits Group, as part of a national and overseas growth strategy.

Premier yesterday revealed that it was buying the prominent SA companies Freshway Farms and Stam Fruit Supply to expand and complete its national footprint.

Premier’s group general manager, Dean Gall, said it had become one of Australia’s top five fresh fruit and vegetable companies, supplying a broad range of national and overseas customers. Mr Gall said there would be no job losses and he anticipated that by becoming part of a national group it would help the two businesses to expand and employ more people.

The privately owned Premier employs more than 200 people nationally before the two latest acquisitions.

The Freshway Farms brand will be retained in some key customer channels, but wholesaler Stam Fruits will be rebranded as Premier Fruits Adelaide.

Mr Gall said that Freshway general manager Tony Spano would oversee the Freshway Farm production, while Stam Fruits general manager Peter Stam would manage the rebadged Premier Fruits Adelaide market operations.

Premier supplies all the major supermarket chains, independent retailers, food service companies and processors around Australia and a broad range of international customers. Mr Gall said exports were a major part of Premier’s growth strategy, particularly to Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Premier also owns farms or runs joint ventures in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria, producing a wide range of vegetable and fruit crops.

Freshway Farm includes more than 27,000 square metres of hydroponic greenhouses to grow tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, eggplant and zucchini in a controlled environment. It specialises in growing and packing tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and zucchinis, sourcing product from its own significant greenhouse (hydroponic) production facilities.

Freshway Farms also operates a state-of-the-art refrigerated packing facility equipped with computerised packing machines to deliver efficiencies and packing quality outcomes that are highly respected in the industry.

To be rebadged as Premier Fruits Adelaide, the business services independent retailers, processors, and local and interstate wholesale agents with a soft vegetable product range offering inclusive of: capsicums, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchinis, rockmelon and seedless watermelon.

Source: adelaidenow.com.au