Euro-Atlantic, will open a new headquarters and refrigeration facility with a strong focus on sustainability
Euro-Atlantic plans to open its new headquarters and refrigeration facility in the third quarter of this year. They will have a great focus on sustainability. It is the first building to have received a Green Building Index (GBI) certification in the fresh produce industry in Malaysia.
It will be environmentally-friendly by using a hybrid of active and passive building systems such as solar-powered cold rooms with technology that prolong the shelf life of the produces and are ozone-free. Besides that, there will be plenty of natural light in the offices.
Additionally, Euro-Atlantic just acquired a new packing center and a warehouse equipped with some packaging machineries. Ebby Loo, Managing Director of Euro-Atlantic, affirms: “Our goal is to gradually and fully automate all packing assembly lines, keeping wastages and inefficiencies to a minimum. These investments are necessary strategies to constantly improve and to cultivate a culture of innovation and transformation. New ideas, reinventions and change are the only constants”. It should be noted that the company has already begun to change the packaging materials from plastic to compostable packaging (bamboo pulp).
The company is also in talks of selling the surplus fresh produce to be processed into compost or fertilizer which can then be used to grow more plants. They continue to recycle most of their carton boxes and paper cores, reuse selected packaging materials when possible and properly dispose of the wastages.
Regarding its volumes sold this year and the forecast, the company assures that it is an unusual year.
When it comes to retail, there is no significant growth as the prices that soared during the pandemic has not seen a downward trend yet. Prices have been hovering at this level for some time as raw material prices are still unstable.
As for the HORECA and food service sector, the company has seen a staggering 1.5 times growth as compared to the lockdown period where most F&B businesses were closed. They quickly recovered after the lockdown was lifted and this caused a sudden boom. The company affirms that to expect significant growth in the coming months.
The institutional and medical industry also saw a spike as more patients were willing to start visiting hospitals for their annual check-ups and resume postponed treatments.
Catering and culinary schools are also back to physical classes. Hence, more cooking is involved which increased their purchase volume for ingredients (fresh produce).
Euro-Atlantic foresees positive changes next year as the economy starts recovering within the next 6 to 8 months.
