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Karsten Fruit Packers
 Karsten Fruit Packers is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Karsten group, specialising in fruit packing and cold storage. It is located at Gouda in the Western Cape and ideally positioned to serve fruit growers across the Cape region. It is also 100 kilometers from the port of Cape Town.
The modern packing and cold storage complex maintain the highest standards in fruit packing and cooling and has acquired BRC and HACCP certification. It handles around 35 000 bulk bins of fruit every year.
Around 60% of the fruit handled by Karsten Fruit Packers originates from farms owned or managed by the Karsten Group. This includes two of the best known fruit producing in the Western Cape, namely Hoogland at Ceres and Lourensford near Somerset-West. Karsten Fruit Packers also do contract packing for producers spread out across the Western Cape.
Apart from fruit packing Karsten Fruit Packers is also an important fruit cooling facility for growers in the Western Cape. There are 14 CA stores, with a total capacity of 11 000 bulk bins, as well as 8 RA rooms with capacity for 5000 bins or 2000 pallets. The cold rooms are equipped to do forced air cooling.
Karsten Fruit Packers is located at the junction of the R44 (from Wellington to Porterville) and the R46, which connects Ceres and the Breede River Valley with the main routes of the Western Cape.
Karsten Fruit Packers starts packing plums in December and continues until March. Pears are packed mainly from January till June, and apples from February till September. Citrus packing starts in July and ends in September. This allows the company to maximise its packing capacity and offer job opportunities to the local community for an extended period of the year.
The company is led by an experienced team with many years of experience in fruit production, fruit packing and cold storage. The emphasis is on quality of services and efficiencies which enhanced relationships with customers and stakeholders.
Karsten Fruit Packers pack a range of apples, pears, plums and citrus fruit for the Karsten Group and other fruit producers and exporters in the Cape region. The company prides itself on delivering quality services at market related prices.
Dedicated staff in the receiving areas, cold rooms and pack house maintains fruit quality and deliver only the best products in the carton. Once packed, palletised and cooled, the fruit is loaded container loading bays before dispatch to the port.
Karsten Fruit Packers provide cooling facilities to a large community of clients in the Western Cape. Pallets or bins are off-loaded efficiently, stock and temperature checks are carried out and the product delivered into cold storage in the quickest possible time.
Karsten Fruit Packers offers customers a comprehensive service with key staff being located on the premises at all times to ensure that cooling regimes are maintained at all times.
The Karsten Group is well-known for its dedication to its staff. Training and development is a key aspect of the Karsten Fruit Packers philosophy and staff is given every chance to advance their skills and their position in the company. Freedom of association and religion is practiced diligently and the company subscribes to the ethical trade base code. Staff also has access to recreation and medical facilities.
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