DE Koella Group digging spade boots

German company Kölla Group has established a new company based in Italy to handle the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables from Germany and Spain to the country, as well as providing information about the availability of produce from its Italian growing areas.

Kölla Italia is based in Bolzano, South Tyrol, and will be led by former Aurorafruit commercial director Alberto Busti.

“The experienced and highly qualified team under the direction of Alberto Busti will first and foremost devote their energy into the purchase and the active sale to German and Italian supermarkets, chain-stores and fresh fruit markets,” the group said in a statement.

“Like this, Kölla creates international trade flows with an exceptional diversity of products, offering all their synergies and advantages from a single source.”

Kölla Group manages a number of other subsidiaries including Kölla in Kaarst near Düsseldorf, Kölla Munich, Kölla Bern in Switzerland, Kölla Valencia in Spain and Kölla Bisceglie in Italy.

As well as offices in Bolzano and Karlsruhe, it also recently opened a new branch in the French city of Perpignan, which it regards as the most important transshipment hub for produce originating in Spain and northern Africa.

Its Hamburg branch, Kölla Hamburg Overseas Import, recently separated from the group following a management buy-out led by managing director Herbert Scholdei and two new partners, Brigitte Gallinat and Dirk Lange.

The trio has since rebranded the company as Macalea.