Passion and a modern approach -

“From the time I was a boy, I was able to watch the dedication and passion with which my grandfather, Hans Klotz, sold apples and pears from Alto Adige."

Goodness from the heart

Seeking the best in quality

We love fruit and vegetables. We have for over a halfcentury. Hans Klotz Srl is a family business with a long established tradition that, for over three generations, has been active in the international trade of top-quality fruit and vegetables grown in the fertile fields of Italy. The close and long-standing relationships we have created with our customers and growers represent the fundamental cornerstone of our success. Our company is committed to doing its utmost to satisfying the increasingly high standards of the market in terms of food safety, traceability, residue control, quality control, product-sourcing, flexibility and around-the-clock customer service. The close working relationships we have developed with growers, distributors and you, the customer, make it possible for the products requested (both in terms of daily deliveries and special seasonal products) to be delivered promptly and in the quantity desired and, above all, to the exacting standards of the customer. This is the key to a fruitful and profitable collaborative relationship.

“From the time I was a boy, I was able to watch the dedication and passion with which my grandfather, Hans Klotz, sold apples and pears from Alto Adige."

Company history since 1947

1947

The company was founded in 1947. The 24 year-old Hans Klotz Senior decided to dedicate himself to exporting South Tyrolean apples and pears. He started producing, stocking, packing and marketing them to the rest of the world. Around 10 years later, after the birth of the EU, and the successive free trade of fruit and vegetables, the Klotz company started to grow. This growth was shortly followed by a blooming business – especially with Germany- and the implementation of innovative ideas and solutions.

The 60s

In the 60s, Klotz becomes a byword for innovative services: the company purchases an apple sorting machine from Holland, which resulted in a fourfold increase in production levels. The first change in leadership was soon to follow.

1977

Son Helmut Klotz takes the company reins over in 1977. He is a Klotz through and through: he adapts to the changing times, he introduces modern technologies, expands and grows the company with cold storage cells with an inbuilt CO2 stockage function. He decides to cooperate with the, at the time, biggest Italian fruit and vegetable trader: Cadsky SpA from Bolzano. The latter dissolves some years later. Klotz therefore decides to step back from the traditional apple production and to refocus his company’s efforts on something new. From that moment on, Hans Klotz stands for direct delivery of retail food products, encompassing the full range of Italian fruit and vegetables, in Europe.

End of the 80s

Towards the end of the 80s, the new generation steps up. The nephews of the founder of the company take up their role. The family-run business grows once again. Ingrid, Hans and Harald Klotz stick to the family motto: quality meets tradition. Helmut Klotz is still part of the company, as President of the Board of Directors, and still carries out business. Business operations in the retail food market are expanded yet again; what is more, they decide to merge via a joint venture with Ceccarelli GmbH in Cesena. Furthermore, they also start marketing JULIUS, their premium brand.

1990s until 2000

The young generation starts expanding the logistic aspect of the business, cross docking and residue monitoring. They also wish to constantly improve. The company starts toying about with the idea of offering a complete package to their clients: from the production, packaging to the final delivery of new and innovative products. The company’s newly obtained organic food certificate contributes to its latest endeavour’s success: from this moment on, clients can choose to receive a mixed selection of organic fruit and vegetables in small sizes. Hans Klotz Junior und his siblings heavily invest in agriculture and farming and their own apple fields. After all, it was their grandfather who taught them that a company needs constant modernising.

2008 until today

That is how, in 2008, one of the most modern production plants in Europe was opened: fruit juices and fruit pulp of the highest quality were produced and sold to bottling factories and fruit produce preparing companies. In this way, the company guarantees that its products fall under the 2nd class/industry quality and at the same time it improves the quality standard for the 1st class. Furthermore, this modern approach is to be seen in the official headquarters of Hans Klotz Srl. In 2009 the office structure in Bolzano/Firmiano undergoes redevelopment, the first of its kind since its opening in 1947. Export was always the leitmotif of the company, but it now starts importing products from Spain and Portugal to be sold on the retail food market.

Entrepreneurship and development have always been part of the Klotz family tradition. It has always endeavoured, and always will, to deliver only the best to its clients. Hans Klotz Srl: quality meeting tradition since 1947.