SIRANE Central America’s first trade show, Aneberries, was a chance to meet some of the Mexican fruit industry’s major players and share the company’s ambitious plans for Mexico.
Aneberries took place in Guadalajara earlier this month – just months before production begins in our new Mexico factory, from where we will be manufacturing a supplying a range of innovative food packaging products – starting with absorbent pads for soft-fruit.
Aneberries brought together most of the major growers and producers in Central America, together with suppliers, providing a forum for discussing industry-wide issues.
The show took place at the Expo Centre in Guadalajara – just a few miles from Sirane Central America’s new factory – from August 10-12. For Sirane’s Central America team it was a great chance to meet people from within the soft fruit industry and discuss their fruit packaging needs – and talk in depth about everything from shelf-life extension to supply.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Sirane Central America is a very exciting development for the company – our biggest ever expansion. Aneberries allowed us to meet many key contacts in the soft-fruit industry, and was a very useful and very successful few days for us.
“Our cushioned absorbent pads for berries are already proving very popular with growers in the region, and we’re working with them directly to further develop our product range. We’ve already got plenty of orders in place for when we begin manufacturing – as well as pads ready in the warehouse in Mexico for anyone who needs supplying sooner.
“Aneberries gave us a great opportunity to talk about the products, the options people have available to them in terms of sizes etc, and supply – and we’re the first company to begin manufacturing this type of product in Mexico itself, which has provoked a lot of interest, and a lot of goodwill, as people seem to appreciate the fact that we’re investing locally.”
Sirane Central America will begin full manufacturing in Guadalajara in early October – with the team currently working hard to get all the operational requirements in place. A manufacturing manager has been recruited and machinery is on its way. Sirane’s UK factory has full BRC accreditation, and Sirane Central America will operate to the same standards.
Sirane Central America is based in Guadalajara, close to Mexico’s major berry growing regions and the headquarters of many major growers, and will focus initially on absorbent fruit pads – with the market for berries in particular and soft-fruit in general the major target.
Simon Balderson said: “Sirane Mexico is a major step for the company – we’ve still got some work to do between now and September, but it is exciting times. It is important for us that the new manufacturing facility in Mexico is of the same standard as the UK, so we’ve got work to do getting the facility up to the levels that will meet BRC accreditation.
“All of this should be in place by October, when we will initially start by producing absorbent pads for soft fruit for the local market, and then we can grow the business from there. Aneberries was a great place to explain our products and our plans to the industry.”
Mexico’s booming soft-fruit industry is one of the largest in the world. Its temperature, height above sea-level and rainfall make growing conditions absolutely ideal. Vast quantities of fruit including strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries are exported to Europe, North America and even the Far East – making packaging vitally important.
Sirane offers a range of absorbent pads for fruit, including standard absorbency, absorbent ‘cushioned ‘ Soft-Hold bubble pads, and our new Dri-Fresh ABV anti-microbial pads, which contain a blend of natural bio-flavonoids and organic acids which naturally enhance fruit’s own protective defences. We also offer pads with ethylene absorbency incorporated.
All of these products will be manufactured at the new 1,500 sq m unit in Guadalajara, in an innovation park where there is scope to expand the site as the Mexican business grows. The long-term plan is to eventually begin manufacturing a range of food packaging products similar to those made in the UK, as well as medical and healthcare products.
To contact Sirane Mexico, email Adam Green at adam.green@sirane.com or Josua Vega at jos.vega@sirane.com. Jos is based locally and can be contacted on +521 333 8428 448.
FROM LEFT: Sirane MD Simon Balderson, Josua Vega, and Adam Green, president of Sirane North America.
