Capespan UK in Sheerness imports and distributes fresh fruit and salad. Its operation is now focusing on working with the growers to develop the business
By Abigail Saltmarsh
The future looks rosy for fresh fruit operation Capespan UK. The Sheerness-based division of the operation, which oversees the import and distribution of a wide range of fruit has seen rates of growth of between five and ten percent this year – and as its business continues to grow, it expects this steady expansion to continue.
Trading director Martin Dunnett said the company was looking to develop its operation, ensuring its supply chain remained as lean and efficient as possible, while also working closely with growers to ensure neither ethics nor the high quality of produce was compromised.
“I think we are in a very good position to keep the company moving forward,” he said. “There are a number of new directions in which we could take Capespan UK in in the future, to enable us to continue to grow smoothly and efficiently.
“Our main consideration, however, is to make the most of these opportunities while also ensuring the consumer remains satisfied and that we continue to work with the growers to run an ethical operation.”
Improving interaction
Martin Dunnett joined the company some 30 years ago as a technical manager, and has watched it grow and develop over the decades. “It has changed hugely since then,” he said. “The growth of supermarkets has had a major effect on the industry over the years and therefore on our business too.
“As a company that works so closely with the growers, our job has been to improve interaction with them and to focus more and more on facilitating the supply chain as much as possible.”
Capespan was formed in 1994 as a joint venture between the South African fruit export organisations, Outspan International Limited and Unifruco Ltd. More recently, 1998 saw the merger of Outspan International and Unifruco Ltd in South Africa to form Capespan (Pty) Ltd, followed by the alliance between Capespan and Fyffes in 1999.
The initial source of this expertise is principally the fruit growing community of South Africa. However, such is the reputation of the company, Capespan International now finds its services in demand from growers in other parts of Africa, as well as South, Central and North America, New Zealand, Europe and various Mediterranean regions.
“This is a unique and very powerful arrangement that we have,” said Martin Dunnett. “It means we are assured produce of the highest quality and are able to meet the demands of the retailer while also looking after the interest of the grower.”
Distributing across the UK
Today the company, which sees an annual turnover of £120 million in the UK, brings brands that include the likes of Cape, Outspan, Fyffes and Bella Nova into the country, and distributes them to supermarkets, independent retailers and market vendors from its state-of the-art warehouse and logistics facilities at Sheerness. Here, at the UK headquarters, there are purpose-built refrigerated cold stores for up to 21,000 pallets.
The port facility handles some 15 million cartons a year from 280 vessels. It despatches up to 1,000 pallets a day from 64 consolidation lines and 18 loading bays, while delivering to 25 retail distribution centres and 17 regional markets.
Highly trained and skilled quality assurance and quality control teams monitor the produce and all elements of the operating process; from discharge, through warehouse management, to loading on to customer’s vehicles, all processes are computer controlled.
This allows only the minimum of handling to take place and full traceability and control of fruit throughout the chain. The logistics companies then provide a complete forwarding, customs clearing, invoicing and cash collection service.
They can also arrange for all processing (ripening, netting, bagging, etc) needs whether through their own dedicated facilities or our alliance partners.
“We also have operations at Paddockwood, and in Kent for the reworking of some of our products. There’s also a Scottish operation at Arbroath, where we pack some fruit for our northern business,” explained Martin Dunnett.
Looking Ahead
Salad is also an area which is seeing an increasing focus. Five years ago the company acquired a salad interest in the UK and now this is becoming a key growth area.
“In the last 12 months in particular we have seen growth in this area,” said Martin Dunnett. “We believe there are further opportunities for expanding in the salad business.”
At the moment the company is very strong in apples, pears, grapes, citrus fruit, melons, kiwis and stone fruit (such as peaches and nectarines). Produce comes from South Africa, Central America, China, Peru, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Spain and Morocco, among other countries.
“We are however going to be looking closer to home in the near future as well. For example, we will be looking more closely at English apples at in the future,” he added. “Locally sourcing our salads has worked well and doing the same with fruit could provide us with other opportunities.”
Environmental considerations are also at the forefront of Capespan’s strategy for the future. The company aims to continue to reduce packaging where possible and to focus on reducing the environmental impact of its operations where possible.
“We believe our system of using sea freight is an efficient method of transport with a low environmental impact yet this is obviously something we are continually looking at,” he said. “Where produce is flown in we are working with our customers to ensure the consumer is kept informed. Some retailers, for example, now put a label with a small plane on the fruit. The customer can then choose whether to buy the item.”
Capespan also takes its relationships with its growing regions very seriously. Since 1990, it has also invested in “upliftment” programmes for South African fruit workers.
“Five percent of our profits are used to develop the Capespan Foundation’s groundbreaking work with worker communities,” said Martin Dunnett. “The Foundation’s work culminated in the first Fairtrade-accredited fruit export and to date, Fairtrade citrus, pears, apples, plums and grapes have all been marketed by Capespan exclusively.”