Potato trading company Europlant celebrates 30th anniversary

March 10, 2022

The German company plans to celebrate its 30^th anniversary in September, as part of the PotatoEurope 2022 trade fair in Bockerode.

Innovative distribution concept

Europlant was founded in 1992, as a sales company of the traditional breeding company Kartoffelzucht Böhm GmbH & Co. KG and its partners Vereinigte Saatzuchten eG, Raiffeisen Centralheide eG and Stader Saatzucht eG. This establishment created the basis for an innovative distribution concept for seed potatoes, the company states in its press release.

Worldwide distribution

‘In 1992, we started selling the potato varieties of our shareholders in Eastern Germany and some export markets. In 2002 we took over the worldwide distribution rights. With the trade of table and industrial potatoes, we added another business sector in 2005’, says Managing Director Jörg Eggers, proudly looking back on the company’s history.

International development

Europlant has now become an important international supplier of seed potatoes of innovative varieties. The international developments of the company started early on, with its first subsidiary for sales and multiplication being founded in 1993, in Slovakia. From there on, the group has created a network of 13 subsidiaries and associated companies, and is active in over 70 countries with more than 250 employees. Worldwide, the company sells about 260,000 tonnes of seed potatoes, of which 145,000 tonnes on the German market.

New varieties

‘Together with our sister company, Böhm-Nordkartoffel Agrarproduktion GmbH & Co. OHG, we are constantly working to develop new and innovative varieties,’ states Managing Director Jörg Renatus. For Europlant, the focus is on improving natural resistance to potato diseases and pests, strengthening resilience to environmental influences and increasing cultivation efficiency. The company’s range now includes more than 100 varieties for table, processing and starch production. Planting material for organic cultivation is propagated from more than 30 varieties.

Focus on answering the questions of customers

‘A long-term, trust based and fair cooperation with our customers is our top priority,’ says Eggers, adding that they promise their farmers to achieve the best possible harvest success, relying on Europlant’s varieties and seed potatoes. His statement fits what Renatus told us during the Potato Variety Days 2021, when asked what the company is focusing on when it comes to breeding work: ‘Answering the questions of our customers, the potato varieties they’re looking for, that should be our focus’, he mentioned.

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