Robert Balicki has been named Worldwide Fruit’s new chief executive officer.

Formerly company chairman, Balicki (pictured left) has been acting ceo since August.

Jeff Wesley, chief executive of New Zealand-based Turners & Growers ­- owner of the Enza brand and joint owner of WWF along with UK-based Northcourt Group ­- will take up the role of chairman.

Speaking at a press briefing last week, the company also announced it would be making an investment of £5 million over the next year, which will fund a new ripening and packing facility in Spalding. The new outlet will handle the company’s imported fruit, including avocados, kiwifruit and dates, and is scheduled to be up and running by August 1.

“£5m is the investment we’ve got pencilled in for the next year, but like all things, we’ve never got a closed concept of where we are going,” said marketing manager Steve Maxwell (pictured right).

He said the company, which supplies just under 20 per cent of the UK’s retail top fruit trade, would continue to focus on its planting programmes, including increasing available volumes of Enza’s Jazz brand.

“Take out the deregulation factor [in New Zealand] and the business has performed well over the last five years,” said Maxwell. “We’re in a springboard position…now we have the right people and a grower base in parts of the world we believe are the best out there. It’s good to be integrated.”

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