Compac welcomed Mayor of Manizales, Colombia to discuss region’s horticulture sector grow

Compac’s development facility was visited by Mr José Octavio Cardona León, Mayor of Manizales, capital of the Caldas department in Colombia. Visit was organized with the support of New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. The meetings focused on how Compac and its partners in Colombia can help the region’s horticulture sector grow and take advantage of global markets. A key area of interest was improving post-harvest operations to enable high-quality export produce.

The horticulture sector is key to the economy of Manizales and the Caldas department, which is Colombia’s second largest producer of Hass avocado with 33% of its total production. Caldas is also developing its production of mangoes, citrus and stone fruit.

After the visit, Mayor Cardona stated: “The visit to Compac was very informative and valuable. It has enabled us to understand the extended agroindustrial model where the processes to guarantee product quality rely on technological equipment, which becomes a strategic partner in the process.”

Compac is well placed to support Mr Cardona’s efforts to develop the region’s horticulture sector with its post-harvest solutions. Having entered the Colombian market in 2018 through an association with Agrosermaq, a company based in Medellín specialising in post-harvest operations, it has already supplied multiple sorting and grading solutions. This approach, which leverages a local partner in a best-of-breed model, enables Compac to meet the specific requirements of each country.

Compac’s most recent project was delivered to Westfalia Fruit Colombia for its plant in Sonsón, in the department of Antioquia. The facility, which was inaugurated in January 2019, is the largest and most advanced avocado processing plant in the country and features Compac’s latest industry-leading grading and sorting technologies. This project has already received recognition for its contribution to the local community through job creation and increased tax revenue for this rural town.

“The solution Compac installed at the Westfalia Fruit Colombia facility is at the cutting edge of sorting and grading technology and was developed to meet the requirements of their large-scale operation,” explained Jacinto Trigo, Compac Latin America Regional Director. “However, Compac works with operations of all sizes. We are able to supply solutions for small and medium post-harvest operations that fit their initial requirements and provide a platform to grow alongside the company and meet future export opportunities.”

Compac approaches its relationship with its customers as a partnership aimed at designing a tailor-made solution that will meet their specific requirements.

Configurations of the Compac Single Lane Sorter (SLS) have been developed specifically to meet the requirements of South American markets. They offer an entry-level solution with lower start-up costs that provide a platform for the operation to grow and increase capacity to meet future demand. For the larger scale operations, its Multi Lane Sorting (MLS) systems ensure the highest processing capacities.  The advanced Inspectra²