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Coop Group's new production site in Pratteln, near Basel
Coop Group flying high with ammonia Swiss retail giant the Coop Group is putting natural refrigerants at the heart of its strategy for becoming CO2-neutral by 2023. Accelerate Europe visits the group’s new production site in Pratteln to find out how ammonia is helping to deliver this target. – By Andrew Williams
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xiting the motorway at Pratteln, near the Swiss border city of Basel, drivers cannot miss the proud ‘coop’ sign adorning the roof of the buildings below.
At its factory in the suburbs of Basel, Swiss retailer the Coop Group produces chocolate, wine and foodstuffs such as dried fruit and nuts for sale in its own stores and for export around the world. The Coop Group consists of a retail arm comprising Coop supermarkets and other specialist formats such as pharmacies, petrol stations and DIY stores in Switzerland, and a European wholesale and production business.
Group sales in 2016 amounted to CHF 28,322 million (AUD 36,933 million). The group employs some 85,000 people and boasts 2,250 retail stores and 226 wholesale outlets in its portfolio. The Pratteln site is home to three of the Coop Group’s own brands: Chocolats Halba (premium Swiss chocolate), Sunray (foodstuffs) and Cave (wine). The factory produces over 13,000 tonnes of premium Swiss chocolate for retail, industry and export every year – US retail giant Walmart is a big customer. Under the Sunray banner, 32,500 tonnes of foodstuffs sourced from around the world are processed into 600 different products
Accelerate Australia & NZ
Spring 2017