A story of success
NEWS
Present day finds PROTO as the leading Greek Kiwi and Cherry producer. To reach the top though, we all know it takes great effort, careful planning and failure even, in order to learn how to produce the best and become one of the best European Kiwis and Cherries packer.
The start
It was back in 1978 when kiwis were first introduced as a larger scale crop in the Greek agricultural production, almost exclusively in the region of Pieria, located in central Macedonia. Nikos Protofanousis today’s President and CEO was already active in the fruit business and begun including the then exotic by Greek standards fruit in his inventory. The fruit bought by the firm was already sorted and sales were to the wholesale local market of Thessaloniki and exporting very small quantities to nearby countries with Serbia being the main destination.
Strong team
After more than 20 years while PROTO was handling mainly Lemons, Oranges and Mandarins, Mr. Protofanousis came across George Kallitsis who proved to be the key person to PROTO’s success in the Kiwis and Cherries business. For those who know him, Nikos Protofanousis is a person who not only never lets an opportunity fly by but can also identify potential and make predictions that most people take years to realize. George Kallitsis was that exact opportunity and with him being on the lookout for the next step in his career, Nikos Protofanousis offered a collaboration between the two. With Nikos Protofanousis being an open-minded businessman and George Kallitsis as the mastermind behind all operations and marketing strategies, PROTO as we know it today started to take shape.
New investments
In 2006 the Nea Efessos cooling rooms investment became a reality and the company decided to begin sorting and packing, thus expanding its supply chain to both directions. Slowly but steadily, with George Kallitsis efforts and Nikos Protofanousis’s constant support the company established its brand name, obtained new customers and increased its annually handled kiwis and cherries quantities. It was only last year that PROTO invested in a brand new 20 lines Cherries calibrator, a 100% increase in size in comparison to the old machine. Nikos Protofanousis two sons, Alex and Yannis are already actively participating in all operations and with George Kallitsis still involved, the company’s future looks brighter than ever.
Present day finds PROTO as the leading Greek Kiwi and Cherry producer. To reach the top though, we all know it takes great effort, careful planning and failure even, in order to learn how to produce the best and become one of the best European Kiwis and Cherries packer.
The start
It was back in 1978 when kiwis were first introduced as a larger scale crop in the Greek agricultural production, almost exclusively in the region of Pieria, located in central Macedonia. Nikos Protofanousis today’s President and CEO was already active in the fruit business and begun including the then exotic by Greek standards fruit in his inventory. The fruit bought by the firm was already sorted and sales were to the wholesale local market of Thessaloniki and exporting very small quantities to nearby countries with Serbia being the main destination.
Strong team
After more than 20 years while PROTO was handling mainly Lemons, Oranges and Mandarins, Mr. Protofanousis came across George Kallitsis who proved to be the key person to PROTO’s success in the Kiwis and Cherries business. For those who know him, Nikos Protofanousis is a person who not only never lets an opportunity fly by but can also identify potential and make predictions that most people take years to realize. George Kallitsis was that exact opportunity and with him being on the lookout for the next step in his career, Nikos Protofanousis offered a collaboration between the two. With Nikos Protofanousis being an open-minded businessman and George Kallitsis as the mastermind behind all operations and marketing strategies, PROTO as we know it today started to take shape.
New investments
In 2006 the Nea Efessos cooling rooms investment became a reality and the company decided to begin sorting and packing, thus expanding its supply chain to both directions. Slowly but steadily, with George Kallitsis efforts and Nikos Protofanousis’s constant support the company established its brand name, obtained new customers and increased its annually handled kiwis and cherries quantities. It was only last year that PROTO invested in a brand new 20 lines Cherries calibrator, a 100% increase in size in comparison to the old machine. Nikos Protofanousis two sons, Alex and Yannis are already actively participating in all operations and with George Kallitsis still involved, the company’s future looks brighter than ever.
