Silver – our tray washer partner in Chile
A bit of History
Silver, a trading company established in Chile, imports European packaging equipment and materials which are used in the fruit growing industry. Every year tons of fruit are produced in Chile and exported to for example Europe, U.S., Middle East, and Asia. This makes Chile one of the biggest fruit exporting countries worldwide.
Over 25 years ago Silver ordered a couple of tray washers from Jan Janssen, the founder of Limex. One of these was sold to Unifrutti Turkey and the other one has been fully operational for rental services in Chile for several decades.
A few years ago, the U.S. and Europe tightened their legislation on the hygiene protocol for food production. For Chile, these markets represent more than 50% of the exported fruit volume. Therefore, professional Chilean producers had to adapt to these new hygiene protocols.
This long relationship has been renewed in 2017 when trading company Silver shipped several tray washers to Chile. Silver, a company up until then mainly importing fruit packing machines and materials, saw the opportunity and considered adding more washing machines to their range of products, as they noticed an increasing demand for tray and crate washers. One of the staff members of Silver, a young man named Martin Campos, who graduated recently from the engineering university, was interested in the concept and he took the reins of the project.
Local Limex expert in Chile
Martin Campos, now Commercial Manager of Silver, contacted Limex to discuss the idea of becoming trading partners. Shortly after, the first container loaded with three washing machines of the type T1500E was shipped to Chile. This machine is known for its ability to perform all washing processes within the compact design. Limex invited Martin for a visit to get acquainted with the tray washing machines and the different settings. While in The Netherlands, he joined the technical team of Limex for training and explanation.
Back in Chile, Silver is leasing and selling the Limex machines to their customers. The training and the extensive collaboration between the two partners make it possible for Silver to install the machine locally, do extensive testing and create the perfect settings for their client’s needs. Because of the close relationship between Silver and Limex, the Chilean trading company is able to sell spare parts of the washing machines and to give full service to their clients. Nowadays more than half a dozen of Limex tray washers are used in Chile and there will be many more to come!
How does Silver experience the Limex collaboration and the tray washers?
The collaboration between Limex and Silver has reached new heights over the years. This is partly due to expanding the goals and meeting challenges outside the fruit-growing industry. For example, in 2020 we started a new project with one of the largest bakery factories in Chile that provides bread to Mc Donalds.
The rental service has grown up as well, adding more units this year to his fleet within the region. Silver is providing washing services to main producers of cherries and table grapes like Dole and Unifrutti among others and It has been getting more known in the industry due an intensive marketing plan and the given recommendations from happy customers.
“It is a pleasure for us to work with Limex, which is aware of the problems of hygiene and water scarcity that concern us in Chile and some regions. In addition, they are always working on improving their technologies, providing customers with tailor-made solutions, with the perspective of a sustainable future.” – Martin Campos
