German technology and services company Bechtle AG had launched a new data center in Mutterstadt Bechtle said the new facility has “significantly expanded” its existing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) capacities and enables the scalable operation of private cloud services for its SME The company said the facility is up and running with the first customer environments already having been successfully migrated “We are seeing a growing demand for hosted private cloud environments which will be able to operate long into the future at the Rhine-Neckar Campus data center Our customers will benefit from a combination of highly available and stable IT systems with a focus on sustainable resource use,” said Dirk Müller-Niessner The new facility was developed in collaboration with a colocation provider which operates twin data centers Rhine-Neckar I and II (DCRN I & II) in the Mutterstadt area Bechtle has seemingly taken space in DCRN II the two sister data centers are around 20 kilometers apart and offer additional capacities for colocation space totaling around 3,000 sqm each with 350 sqm / 300 racks of capacity; DCRN II offers 2,340 sqm across four data halls PFALZKOM is part of the German energy company PFALZWERKE Group It operates three data centers around the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and has partner data centers in the Ludwigshafen area of Mannheim and Munich (the 7,000 sqm EMC Home of Data facility) Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks one of Europe's largest and most modern marketing centers for fresh fruit and vegetables is now rapidly taking shape The company is investing around 30 million euros for the completion of the new marketing hall (as the first stage of the expansion) The new building project is being constructed on a 15-hectare extension area in a convenient location in close proximity to where the Pfalzmarkt joins the Mutterstadt freeway After the official ground-breaking ceremony yesterday morning Hans-Jörg Friedrich and supervisory board chairman Christian Deyerling answered our questions responsible for project control at Drees & Sommer chairman of the advisory board at Pfalzmarkt eG and Hans-Dieter Schneider New ultra-fast fresh produce logistics brings "Germany's Fruit and Vegetable Garden" even closer to the retail tradePfalzmarkt eG will set new standards in the market with a further significantly optimized and ultra-fast fresh food logistics system Since the Palatinate -the "vegetable garden of Germany" - traditionally offers the best conditions for natural growth fresh produce can be harvested and marketed up to four weeks earlier than elsewhere The location for this expansion is perfect: "Thanks to our exclusive location on the outskirts of the town without immediate neighbors and with our own highway exit at the Mutterstadt interchange This means that there are fewer opponents to the project than elsewhere But the existing buildings are also to continue to be used after the opening of the new building at the end of next year we are told: "Before the new center starts operations we will again provide detailed information on the concrete use of the existing capacities." Thanks to the expertise of the medium-sized producers and the possibility of area-wide irrigation Germany's largest contiguous vegetable growing area is already scoring points with its food retail partners the Pfalzmarkt board member responsible for sales we are creating the conditions for a fresh produce and quality offensive Our message is: We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that vitamins produced sustainably in the 'Obst- und Gemüsegarten Pfalz' will reach consumers throughout Germany even fresher and more crisp in the future via our partners in the food retail trade!" to which the company would like to continue to attach great importance in the future is a central aspect in the design of the new building "The basis for the planning was a comprehensive goods flow analysis Here the foreign exchange applies: Fresh fruit and vegetable of Pfalzmarkt registered association are to arrive in the future still faster from the field into the trade and into the shopping basket of the country wide consumers In order to offer even more freshness and quality in fresh fruit and vegetables around 20,000 square meters of the 30,000 square meters of hall space in the new building will be refrigerated throughout" Short and reliable routes from producer to consumer will become more relevantAs a result of the Corona pandemic and the European heat wave the advantage of short and reliable paths from the producer to the consumer is becoming increasingly relevant: "Sustainably and seasonally produced fruit and fresh vegetables from German cultivation are - also for this reason - still very much in vogue with more and more consumers," explains Pfalzmarkt board member Hans-Jörg Friedrich "In order to be able to supply fresh fruit and vegetables from the Palatinate as early as possible and thus ensure the supply in Germany the Pfalzmarkt producers were and are challenged this season in an unprecedented way Together with 150 employees of the trading platform Fewer harvest helpers and the official requirements for pandemic prevention which the 180 active producers have met since mid-March have resulted in an additional workload and currently still incalculable additional costs Photo: Architectural office / Mike Bollongino Regionality is even more in the ascendancy in the era of the corona virus - is organic the next logical step?"Pfalzmarkt eG has been active in the organic sector for many years we find 'grown in Germany' to be the most important criterion it is a matter of making sure the transport of the fruit and vegetables is sustainable and CO2-positive The expansion of the site will enable us to make even greater strides in this respect." Signal for the sustainability of the cooperative principleFor the total of 1,400 members of Pfalzmarkt eG the expansion of the site is also an important signal because it proves the sustainability of the cooperative principle Chairman of the Supervisory Board and parallel producer at Pfalzmarkt eG says: "We act as a unique association of producers and sales specialists it is clear that there is no better alternative to this form of intelligent division of labour!" For more information: Björn WojtaszewskiPRplusCOMTel:  06321 49 12 98Mobile: 0174 322 10 47Web: www.prpluscom.deMail: [email protected]  FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 HortiDaily.com The volunteers in Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) Unit 301 completed their orientation on July 16-Aug 3 at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor Luke Baldwin of First Church of the Brethren in York is working at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor is serving at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington and Sarah Ullom-Minnich of McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren are serving at Su Casa Catholic Worker in Chicago Tim Heishman of West Charleston Church of the Brethren in Tipp City and Sarah Neher of McPherson (Kan.) Church of the Brethren are working with the Church of the Brethren Youth and Young Adult Ministry serving as two of the three coordinators for the 2014 National Youth Conference will work with Sisters of the Road in Portland is serving at Interfaith Hospitality Network in Cincinnati Andrew Kurtz of Plymouth (Ind.) Church of the Brethren will be volunteering with Quaker Cottage in Belfast is going to the Brethren Disaster Ministries office in New Windsor Mark Pickens of Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is serving at CrossKeys Village in New Oxford Turner Ritchie of Richmond (Ind.) Church of the Brethren will serve in an interim assignment at the Brethren Service Center in Maryland and then will go to the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi-ken Charlotte Rutkowski of Hanover (Pa.) Church of the Brethren is going to the Family Abuse Center in Waco is serving at Washington City (D.C.) Church of the Brethren is serving temporarily at the BVS office in Elgin is volunteering with Lancaster (Pa.) Area Habitat for Humanity For more about Brethren Volunteer Service go to www.brethren.org/bvs The official website of the Church of the Brethren The Palatinate - and thus also the "Gemüsegarten Pfalz" - is considered to be the largest contiguous cultivation area for open-air vegetables in Germany flat fields with ideal soils for growing vegetables producers in the Palatinate vegetable garden can usually harvest fresh fruit and vegetables up to two to three weeks earlier or longer in the spring and late spring than is possible in other domestic regions To ensure that the Palatinate is always able to deliver throughout the season the Gemüsegarten Pfalz - which consists of free and Palatinate market producers and covers an area of over 9,000 hectares - grows red radishes on a total of around 3,100 hectares from the end of March until usually into November which corresponds to a total harvest of around 180 million bunches One of a total of six red radish producers from the Gemüsegarten Pfalz is Heike & Peter Fehmel Gemüsebau from Mutterstadt we spoke to the managing director of FeSa Obst- & Gemüsehandels GmbH & Co about the current challenges in cultivation The FeSa Obst- & Gemüsehandels GmbH & Co KG distributes the red radishes grown on around 250 to 300 hectares of field the farm can harvest between 140,000 and 150,000 bunches a day Several hectares of foil tunnelsIn week 12 "German red radishes we have on offer thanks to the early harvest and extension of the season by about ten and a half months The season is extended by tunnels as well as by greenhouse produce until about January/February To bring the harvest of red radishes forward Fehmel relies on the use of high foil tunnels where just a few rays of sunlight would be enough to get the harvest going early "The tunnels give us further advantages in addition to the already climatically favorable location here in Tiefgraben in the Upper Rhine region," Fehmel says "As soon as the red radishes under the tunnels are harvested we can start directly with the outdoor harvest." There are currently about 40 harvesters working on the site Fehmel also emphasizes that the red radish harvest is all manual labor "The red radishes are pre-selected in the field bundled and transported via crates to the preparation process or a washing and palletizing process where they are again selected and packaged." The hand harvest in the wind- and weather-protected tunnels proceeds more quickly but the logistics take a little longer in return "We can't just drive along the field as we do in the open the produce has to be carried to each end and packed onto the transporter which then takes the produce to the processing plant at the grower's facility." Finding returning workers has become increasingly difficult for the company we maintain contacts with 4,000 to 5,000 harvesters from different countries who come to us every year and rotate every two to three months." Red radish leaves as a freshness indicator Fehmel suggests that red radish production is becoming increasingly difficult "There is a lack of approvals of necessary plant strengthening agents as well as plant protection agents and the foliage in particular is without protection It is always discussed to sell red radishes without leaves experience shows that this is not a good idea sales plummeted by 40 percent." That's because without the green content red radishes in bags would lose their freshness indication and plastic-packed is not really something you want either who buy the protected goods from us every year are clearly committed to German early produce They are also willing to pay higher prices for the product compared to the Italian product which is still marketed in parallel with the German offer." More than 60 to 70 percent of the selling price is purely for the labor costs of harvesting there are the costs of cultivation and downstream steps of processing "That doesn't leave much in the full-cost calculation measured by the average selling price over the year We want to be able to live on it and also generate enough to be able to reinvest Production costs are currently rising considerably safe production will become more expensive Fehmel: "As soon as the red radishes are harvested and the areas become free we start planting our raspberries under the same tunnels This gives us virtually year-round occupancy of the quite costly tunnel areas." Competition from Eastern EuropeA good 15 years ago the company was able to generate 60 percent of its sales through exports to Poland now have better climatic conditions and also know from their activities in the Central European countries how to grow their red radishes you can do it more cheaply because of the political framework." red radishes from the Netherlands and Belgium in protected cultivation and open-field produce from Germany and France were considered "the measure of all things." Thanks to the economic upswing and corresponding EU subsidies the Eastern European countries were able to set up their own productions the idea of regionality also plays a special role in those countries Further information: Jochen FehmelFeSa Obst- & Gemüsehandels GmbH & Co. KGIm Grund 1 67112 MutterstadtTel.: 06234 – 947 670Mail: [email protected]   Web: www.fe-sa.de    Gemüsegarten Pfalz Management GmbH Höhenstraße 3 67434 Neustadt/Weinstr Telefon: +49 6321 9375669 E-Mail: [email protected] Webseite: https://gemuesegarten-pfalz.de  FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Vulcan Energy has received approvals to commence seismic surveys for its geothermal heat development project in the Ludwigshafen region of Germany the world’s largest chemicals producer This follows the signing of the agreement with BASF in November 2024 to collaborate on a renewable development to supply BASF’s Verbund site The BASF agreement also includes the potential construction of a commercial lithium extraction plant in Ludwigshafen BASF’s headquarters and home to the largest integrated chemical complex globally The official approvals have now been obtained for the first stage of development with 2D seismic survey measurements to be carried out from late February to early March 2025 The survey will be conducted on approximately 75 km of roadway within Vorderpfalz a region on the western border of Germany’s upper Rhine Valley brine field (URVBF) including the towns and municipalities of Bad Dürkheim The results of the 2D seismic survey will determine optimal location/s for the next stage of development and will be followed by a 3D seismic survey Vulcan will be responsible for coordinating the planning of the 2D and 3D seismic surveys the results of which will be used to plan locations for geothermal and lithium production/re-injection wells The development aims to utilise geothermal energy from the URVBF to provide renewable heat for BASF’s main plant the development aims to provide a sustainable district heating supply for the Ludwigshafen and Frankenthal areas with the company also planning to utilise the extracted heated brine to produce sustainable lithium Vulcan will seek to replicate the development model across the URVBF in future phases building affordable renewable heating production to contribute to the decarbonisation of European industry and the public heating sector The same brine from the same deep geothermal wells can also then be utilised to produce lithium for lithium-ion batteries commented: “Securing the necessary approvals for the first stage of development is an important step in further advancing the geothermal heat and lithium project in the Ludwigshafen area we will be utilising geothermal energy in such a way that ensures the area has access to a sustainable this development reflects our broader business approach whereby we will seek to replicate this model across the URVBF through partnerships with large This approach not only drives sustainable energy supply in the regions but contributes to Europe’s transition to green electromobility.” BASF Senior VP for infrastructure at Ludwigshafen added: "This project represents an important transformation project on our site and will potentially cover a significant proportion of our future energy requirements without the use of fossil fuels.” Don’t miss out on our last issue of the year The Winter issue of Energy Global is out now; this issue kicks off with a guest comment from Veronica Maxted Director of Renewables at RS Group before moving on to a regional report on the current state of the renewables industry in North America This edition of the magazine also explores key topics such as inspection and maintenance With contributions from key industry leaders such as Viridien dive into the issue and see what you could learn Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/24022025/vulcan-to-commence-seismic-surveys-on-geothermal-project-with-basf/ A campaign to gather more than two years’ worth of wind data crucial for the development of the Ossian floating offshore wind farm has been completed Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below): Already a member? Sign in here Spring has now definitely arrived at the Frischezentrum Melzig in Aschaffenburg the first German greenhouse strawberries arrived from Mutterstadt but they were offered to us at relatively high prices Dutch greenhouse produce was initially needed for the campaigns in domestic food retailing and is now being exported mainly to Scandinavia from calendar week 15 onwards better prices are achieved there than on the German market I estimate that there will still be no comprehensive supply of German outdoor strawberries at Easter," managing director Bastian Wissel reports on request the wholesale company is mainly relying on strawberries of Italian origin The Easter business will also be covered with Italian goods Wissel: "There has recently been increased rainfall in large parts of Italy which in turn has had a negative impact on the quality and shelf life of the goods where extreme rainfall in the southern growing region of Huelva has caused harvest losses of up to 50 percent and prices are 10-15 percent higher than last year." strawberries from three different countries of origin can be found at the Frischezentrum Melzig From left to right: German greenhouse produce the current mood in wholesale is rather subdued observes the regional supplier to food retailers and restaurants "The first quarter was very difficult in both sectors we had the advantage of Easter coinciding with the end of March which is why business is getting off to a much later start we are seeing that the sunny weather and the first signs of spring are bringing new momentum to the retail sector the trend is already steeply upwards from the first week of April." Expansion of the gastronomy divisionMelzig was founded in 1949 and over the years has become a point of contact for food retailers and restaurants In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated closure of restaurants the focus has increasingly shifted to supplying owner-managed food retailers with this sector currently accounting for around 60 percent of total sales "We are keen to expand our food service division again The latter factor has become all the more important due to the doubling of the toll and increased personnel costs we have noticed that consumer behavior in Germany has changed dramatically within just a few years This is forcing the leading food retail chains to offer more and more entry-level products instead of premium products Both the shelf space and the appreciation for the latter category Left: Managing Director Bastian Wissel with premium avocados Right: A warehouse worker performs quality control using a tablet Digitization to increase competitivenessAnother focus of the company is digitization an initial prototype of an online store had been launched and now the company relies on the modern software from Orderlion in all areas of sales "About a third of our customers already shop digitally and we want to increase this share to 50 percent in the coming years It was very important to us to reduce the amount of order processing in the internal sales department and thus save both labor time and costs Another motivation was to increase efficiency: unnecessary paperwork such as delivery notes and the like is no longer required A weekly push message is now sent instead of a faxed quotation as is still common practice in many places Our next goal is to digitize our company's purchasing side accordingly in the medium term," Wissel concludes For more information:Bastian WisselFrischezentrum MelzigMagnolienweg 46,63741 AschaffenburgTel: 0 60 21 / 150 87 - 0Fax: 0 60 21 / 150 87 - 10[email protected]www.melzig-gmbh.de Frontpage photo: © Frischezentrum Aschaffenburg Melzig GmbH