Now in its 11th generation, family owned Daniels Frukt has been growing produce in Västanträsk, Finland since 1724. Located on the Aland Islands, the area books more hours of sunshine than any other region of the Nordic countries and the long warm autumns, make it ideal for fruit and vegetable growing. Despite its size, Aland Island produces 60% of the total amount of Finnish apples and pears.
The Daniels family currently grows 15 hectares of apples and 2.5 hectares of pears on the original farm in Västanträsk, and have recently expanded their apple growing area to 20 hectares in Åttböle. Although deeply rooted in the past traditions of previous generations, they also have an eye on the future, uprooting the old varieties and replacing them with newer varieties that have a better taste and look, but that also don't need much spraying.
Harvest is from the middle of August until March-April, with stocks usually selling out around February-April.
Daniels Frukt have their own sorting and packing houses, on location in Västanträsk, with a total cold storage capacity of around 750 tons in total, with 300 tons being stored in their special ULO (Ultra Low Oxygen) rooms.
"The fruits are picked in specially designed bags that are gently emptied into the big boxes on a trailer that has room for 4 boxes per trailer. In the busiest late picking season, we pick between 20-40 tons per day. And the earlier varieties considerably less because in most cases we pick them in 2 or more rounds, taking the ripe/red first and then wait until more apples have ripened before we pick the next round so we get an even and good quality." shared Ben-Erik Daniels.
The company employs between 5-30 employees, depending on the time of the year, and use adjustable platforms to pick the apples which are higher up in the trees. The platforms are able to carry 4 boxes each (1.2 tons) which can then be loaded directly onto the trucks, which are immediately replaced with empty boxes. The system avoids getting dirt on the apples from the ground, and also means that employees are able to pick twice the amount of fruit per person from the difficult to reach areas. The platforms can also be used outside of the harvest when it is time to prune the trees, putting up pheromone strips, thinning etc.
"Of course our main focus is getting back what we have invested, and taking care of the orchards we have, but we also feel it is important to invest annually in equipment that can help us achieve better quality or solutions that are better for the environment or that can reduce labour costs etc." said Ben-Erik.
As part of their continual investments Daniels Frukt recently procured the Greefa Combisort from Dutch sorting company Greefa.
"We looked at several options, and thought that Greefa Combisort was the most gentle with the fruits - for example the flaps reduced bruising. It's also possible to upgrade it with their system for measuring internal and external quality and more. It also had a design that would fit nicely at our grading facility (within our dimensions etc.). It allows us to grade a higher amount of fruits per day, which helps us get more fruit out quickly, on the market, when there is high demand."
"Most importantly, offering better quality leads to consumers to buy more fruit"
For more information:
Ben-Erik Daniels
Daniels Frukt
Tel: +358 40 0941326
Fax: +358 18 48586
Email: benerik@daniels.ax
www.daniels.ax