…we had in October at Fruit Attraction 2019 @Madrid. We met our clients, got to know new people, and found some wonderful inspiration.
Now we’re looking forward to doing it all over again in the new year at Fruit Logistica 2020 in Berlin on 5, 6 and 7 February. We’ll once again be attending with our own stand in the Holland Pavilion. If you plan on attending as well, please don’t hesitate to drop by! We’d love to drink a good cup of coffee with you…
Nicaragua is one of the many countries to which Waterman Onions exports its onions. The onions are traded from August to November, before the local harvest is collected.
Kenia Zeledon is the purchasing representative for a Nicaraguan cooperative. She found Waterman Onions simply by searching Google.
“I sent an e-mail and we had our first contact. The collaboration with Waterman Onions is very pleasant. The contact is close. They simply offer the best quality onions and precise measurements. Plus, the people who work there are responsible and reliable. That’s a blessing for our business in Nicaragua. Waterman Onions is simply one of the leaders in the sector.”
Steady business
Waterman Onions Sales Manager Erik Waterman underlines the good relationship in the distant country. “In countries like Nicaragua people work with cooperative, and within the cooperative everyone is treated like family. You can definitely sense that. They are a team and really help one another. That also means we can rely on them, and of course they can rely on us. All of that has resulted in a steady business. Together we’ve managed to achieve some major growth.”
Who will win the ‘Golden Masher’? That was the big question on everyone’s lips the 29th of November at a ROC Friese Poort, a college in Emmeloord. In the canteen, 10 teams of students from various secondary schools around the region competed in the first edition of the ‘Hutspot Battle’. A battle for the best Dutch dish that contains potatoes, carrots and (of course) onions.
In the end, the classmates from the Zuyderzee Lyceum were unanimously chosen as the winners. According to the jury of experts consisting of the Youth Mayor of the province of Noordoostpolder Nynke Feenstra, Alderman Marian Uitdewilligen and popular vlogger Anouar Vines, they had prepared the most delicious hutspot of the competition.
Hutspot event
In addition to winning the Golden Masher, the team also has the honor of their recipe being chosen to prepare the hutspot for the annual Agrofood Cluster Hutspot Event scheduled for 12 December. The winners are therefore extremely proud.
Of course Waterman Onions was also there, as you can’t make hutspot without onions. In addition to supplying all of the onions for the competition, Erik Waterman also hosted the event and gave the participants some handy tips about onions. The competition was a fun way to introduce young people to the world of pure and healthy nutrition. #weloveonions
Transport by water may not seem devious at first sight, but experience has proven that it is anything but. The innovative new partnership between transporter Maersk, container terminal CTU and Waterman Onions in the Flevokust Port that opened in the province of Flevoland in 2018 makes a big difference.
Traffic
Waterman Onions Director Erik Waterman explains: “Waterman Onions was one of the very first users at CTU Flevokust, and we’ve benefited a great deal from the change. Until just a few years ago, we were completely unfamiliar with inland shipping, but we were not happy with all the traffic on the road and the long waiting times, especially at the Port of Rotterdam.
Transport over the water is simply a smart alternative to road transport. This partnership has made us more effective and allows us to help our customers faster than ever before. An important bonus is the fact that we’re now considerably more sustainable.”
It was a good ending to yet another productive work week. On Friday, 15 November, we welcomed almost 200 participants to the international Quality Inside Onion symposium at Waterman Onions.
The visit was part of a two-day event organised by De Groot en Slot. The company celebrated the 50th anniversary of its partnership with Bejo Netherlands and an anniversary of its subsidiary Broer B.V.
Onion specialists from around the world were invited to discuss issues such as quality in growing, storage and export of onions, innovations in the field of breeding, and onion processing. Naturally, they also took the opportunity to talk about the latest developments in the branch.
The Quality Inside Onion symposium was well-organized, and the visit to Emmeloord was an excellent end to the event. We were pleased and proud to have made a contribution to the symposium’s success.
Reporter Rens, from the well-known Dutch television programme ‘Keuringsdienst van Waarde’, wondered how ‘new’ the onions in the supermarket with the label ‘new harvest’ were exactly. But he also wanted to find out how ‘old’ the onions are that don’t have that label? In other words, he wanted to learn how onions could stay ‘fresh’ for so long. Of course, we had an answer for him.
It all depends on the right type of soil and the knowledge and experience about growing these beautiful, strong Dutch onions, which can be stored almost all year long thanks to their good quality. The storage also requires certain special techniques. At Waterman, we ensure that our onions are stored at exactly the right temperature and humidity, so our onions still taste delicious and can be shipped around the world for more than ten months after harvest.
Excellent report
Rens made an excellent report of our interview to answer his question. Check out the video, and pay special attention to his reaction to the amount of onions we store in Emmeloord. We definitely enjoyed telling him all about our wonderful onions!
Keuringsdienst van Waarde
The programme ‘Keuringsdienst van Waarde’ tells the stories of the products in our shopping baskets. The Dutch television show investigates what producers and manufacturers present to us as consumers, and whether the claims they make and the advertising they publish are actually true.
From 22 to 24 October Waterman Onions was present at Fruit Attraction 2019 in Madrid. We’ve had three amazing days at this international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector.
This year we had our own booth for the first time and that was definitely worth it.
We met our customers , met new people and got inspired.
What a beautiful profession we have.
We are proud of our #onions!
In a few weeks Waterman Onions is present at Fruit Attraction in Madrid. It is the international trade show for the fruit and vegetable industry, so for everyone in the fruit and vegetable business, no matter where in the world they are situated.
Once again, we’re looking forward being there. These are exciting times in many ways, and we enjoy discussing this with people from our profession.
Will you also be in Madrid? Make sure to stop by our stand: 10F01!
We’d love to drink a good cup of coffee with you. See you in Madrid!
“When we were looking for a partner in the Netherlands, we started by searching the Internet. ‘Quality’ and ‘reliability’ were our search terms, and we found them in Waterman Onions.” These beautiful words were spoken by Jóhannes Por AEvarsson, Managing Director Fresh Produce at Innnes, Iceland’s leading wholesaler of food products, and we are proud to share them with you.
Importer Innnes has been an important player in the food branch in Iceland for over 30 years. Quality is the highest priority at the company, which is based in Reykjavik and employs around 200 people. Innnes represents brands from around the world, a large proportion of which are market leaders.
In addition to the quality of the products, the company also places a high value on the quality of its employees and the environment. They are the company’s foundations, as expressed by the many social activities it organises and supports.
Kolbeinn Ágústsson (Purchasing department) agrees, and adds: “Being a good employer and a good neighbour are as important to us as fast service and good personal contact with our clients. And we recognise that in Waterman as well. The personal contact is especially valuable in a branch like ours. They always respond quickly and positively, which is why we’ve been working with them to our full satisfaction for over three years now!”
Trainees are always welcome at Waterman. Why? Because we enjoy sharing our knowledge and giving people a chance, but also because young people have an open mind and don’t (yet) see obstacles instead of opportunities. They can certainly learn a lot from us, but they also have a lot to teach.
For example, Electrical Engineering student Andy recently made a big impression. He was asked to find a way to reduce the amount of dust in the production hall. It wouldn’t be easy… Andy explains:
“There was a lot of dust in the distribution box, which could cause big problems during a power outage, because you’d have to clean everything before you could fix the problem. That would take time, and in a running production process time is money. So my job was to prevent the dust from accumulating in the first place.
And that’s just what I did. We created overpressure in the distribution box by means of a tube that blows air into the box. And it worked. Once we had the basic prototype, I could get started refining and testing the system, and then we fabricated it and installed it in the box. That was a great assignment, because it gave me an opportunity to do something important for the company.”
Andy has since completed his internship, and when asked what he enjoyed most, he mentioned the freedom and the opportunity to take the initiative himself. That’s what we call a ‘win-win situation’!
