AGRO Merchants Algeciras

Coldstorage and logistics specialist Agro Merchants has announced that its Algeciras facility has been awarded the IFS Logistics certification, passing with the highest grade.

The company said the certification showed its continuous commitment to providing the highest quality of service to its customers and improving internal company processes.

IFS Logistics is an internationally recognised standard for auditing organisations operating in storage and logistics, that sets a level of expectations for transparency throughout the supply chain.

It covers multiple areas, such as management responsibility and quality, product safety and realisation of service among others, with specific requirements for storage and handling conditions.

“We are very proud to have achieved the IFS certification at our Algeciras facility,” said Hans Kroes, managing director of Agro Merchants Iberia. “To us, it’s a recognition of the hard work and dedication of our team to continuous improvement and a high standard of service to our clients.”

One of Agro Merchant’s strategic goals is to become the leading coldstorage and logistics service partner serving the Iberian Peninsula. Apart from the Algeciras facility, which it expanded in 2016, the company also operates two sites in Barcelona, and two in Portugal (Lisbon and Porto).

This week Agro Merchants announced that its Portuguese sites would be supplied by 100 per cent renewable energy, thereby significantly reducing its CO2 emissions.

The company has partnered with Axpo Iberia, a certified supplier of green energy which manages the largest portfolio of photovoltaic plants in the Iberian Peninsula and supplies electricity from a guaranteed 100 per cent green source.

Agro has also joined Axpo’s commitment to reforestation in areas most affected by forest fires in Portugal by donating over a thousand trees to Quercus, the national nature conservation association.

“We strongly believe that it is our duty to contribute our bit to fighting climate change,” said Kroes.

“We not only want to meet our clients’ and stakeholders’ expectations, but we want to continue improving and implementing innovative measures to exceed those expectations.”