Maarten van Hamburg, general manager at Bakker Barendrecht: “The new location means we will be able to continue supplying our strategic partners Albert Heijn and Koninklijke Vezet with the best-quality vegetables and fruit, both now and in the future. It will allow us to further improve our warehousing and packaging processes with the latest logistical technology. Moreover, we will be offering our employees a healthy and pleasant working environment.”
Bakker Barendrecht, which is part of Greenyard, has worked with Albert Heijn in a strategic partnership for almost 60 years. They work together with a close and long-standing group of growers. Constantijn Ninck Blok, fresh produce director for Albert Heijn: “Every day, we fill around five million plates. We want to be the supermarket that helps customers pursue a healthier lifestyle by offering them choices that include a wide range of fresh vegetables and fruit and easy fresh mealkits. We believe that eating tasty fresh produce will help improve everyone’s life. We are opening three ‘Echt Vers’ shops each week. This development at Bakker Barendrecht is helping us to stay ahead in that mission.”
Sustainable construction
The distribution centre will be BREEAM EXCELLENT certified upon completion. That means measures have been taken to reduce energy and water consumption drastically and to bring down CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the building uses construction materials that represent an increase in the recycling of demolition materials. Moreover, the entire building, which is more than 30,000 m² in size, will be provided with solar panels.
Nieuw Reijerwaard, part of Dutch Fresh Port
The distribution centre is being constructed at Nieuw Reijerwaard. Nieuw Reijerwaard is part of Dutch Fresh Port, the Netherlands’ largest specialised agriculture and food cluster. It is also where three business parks in Barendrecht and Ridderkerk have joined forces. Tanja de Jonge, chair of the Gemeenschappelijke Regeling Nieuw Reijerwaard: “We are delighted that Bakker Barendrecht has chosen Dutch Fresh Port. We offer growth opportunities to entrepreneurs for whom innovation, smart collaboration and sustainable operations are second nature. Our ambition is to develop the Netherlands’ most sustainable business park. And Bakker Barendrecht’s ambitions can certainly help us achieve ours.”
The location is being developed by Somerset Capital Partners, while the actual building work is in the hands of Vrolijk construction company. Frank Kersten, partner at Somerset Capital Partners, underscores the high-tech and sustainable character of the new distribution centre: “We are very pleased to be responsible for the construction of the state-of-the-art distribution centre and thereby to facilitate current and future growth of Bakker Barendrecht and its customers.”