CHANGE OF LEGAL STRUCTURE,  REFURBISHMENT AND EXTENSION WORK
Hamburg Wholesale Market sets the stage for further progress

Refurbishment and extension work is to equip the fresh produce centre of the north for a glowing future. A projected change of legal structure will give the market the flexibility to make plans – and to obtain funding.

Great potential:  as one of Germany’s major markets, Hamburg Wholesale Market for Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers has been one of the most important enterprises in the north of the country for more than 50 years. On a site covering 28 hectares around 2,400 people work for some 450 market enterprises. Over the decades the daily hustle and bustle of this busy market has left its marks on the imposing wholesale market hall, which was first opened in 1962 and is now a listed building. Modern terminal halls with cooling facilities and office blocks have grown up around it. And the intention is to keep the market growing: the historic site in Hamburg-Hammerbrook is to be rejuvenated – the wholesale market hall is to be refurbished and, step by step, the market is to be equipped to cope with the continuous changes in work flows and processes. All the measures are to be executed with the least possible amount of disruption to routine market trading. The entire process also dovetails with current thinking on town planning and takes into account the fact that the new HafenCity, one of Europe’s biggest urban development projects, is located directly to the south of the wholesale market.

Boosting Hamburg Wholesale Market’s logistics credentials

At the end of 2008 the senate and parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg provided the wholesale market with an initial amount of extra funding for the renewal project. This money will pay for the most urgently needed refurbishment work – especially that in the wholesale market hall. To maintain and expand the high standards that make Hamburg Wholesale Market a modern centre for fresh produce in the north, however, further steps need to be taken. Emphasis will continue to be placed on the value of the traditional market trade in the wholesale market hall, where almost every inch of space is in use. But in future the logistics industry is also to play a more prominent role at the wholesale market. At the same time the range of goods is to be expanded in order to attract a wider selection of buyers.

Managing director of the wholesale market, Torsten Berens, says, “The wholesale market is a successful business model and it is to be steadily expanded to meet future needs. A variety of experts will be involved in implementing the measures – including town planners and authorities on matters of transport, logistics, trade and historic monuments. The issues of climate protection and optimizing energy consumption will play a special role in our deliberations.”

Change of legal structure for greater flexibility

Hamburg Wholesale Market is a state corporation attached to the Ministry of Economics and Labour Affairs and – in its current form – is closely bound by the budget of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. However, to ensure that plans for the site are put into action as soon and as flexibly as possible, the Senate has asked the Ministry of Economics and Labour Affairs to prepare the way for changing the market’s legal form by mid year. Hamburg’s wholesale market will then become either an institution under public law (AöR) or a limited liability company (GmbH). The great advantage: in future the wholesale market will have much greater independence to decide, for example, the scope of the refurbishment and when to do what. Above all the market can then negotiate directly with banks about funding for the necessary investments.

Connecting with consumers

Changes are happening in other areas too: although daily market trading still has absolute priority, Hamburg Wholesale Market is increasingly opening up to the consumer. For example, a “Food Market” is held once a year at the wholesale market – a gourmet fest for everyone. The huge success of the event shows that its initiators are on the right course: and so more events and specials that revolve around enjoyment, healthy eating and consumer education are on the agenda.

The “German Additives Museum” is another way the wholesale market seeks to connect with consumers. Opened in spring 2008, the facility is located on the wholesale market site where it shows visitors the entire range of flavourings, enzymes, colourings and taste enhancers that are used in the production of a variety of foods. The curators also show ways of dispensing with these additives and how to create balanced alternatives. The schools laboratory SCOLAB introduces schoolchildren to the science of healthy eating as early as possible and, depending on the children’s ages, offers them opportunities to perform suitable experiments on fruit and vegetables.