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Agriculture
countries, most of which are located in Latin America
and Europe, as well as in the USA. Since the Ecua-
dorian market is growing, NIRSA is mostly focused
on local expansion, as well as on maintaining its
solid international presence.
NIRSA was founded by my grandfather Julio Aguirre,
who introduced the first brand of sardines “Real Sar-
dines” in Ecuador and today we are national leaders
in canning and exporting tuna and shrimp in Latin
America, Europe and USA.
Andrés Aguirre
European Sales Manager Europe at NIRSA
UBESA (Dole Ecuador)
Peter Gilmore
General Manager
Av. Las Monjas 10 and Carlos Julio Arosemena
Berlin building, Guayaquil
Tel: +593 4 220 4850
Fax: +593 4 220 4277
www.ubesa.com.ec
Area of activity: Banana and fruit exporter
Date of creation: 1955
Employees: 2500
Annual turnover: $350 million
The Dole-Ecuador operations began on January 1st,
1955 under the name of Standard Fruit Company.
In 2000, a subsidiary of Standard Fruit & Steamship
Company, DOLE, celebrated its forty-fifth anniver-
sary as an exporter of the most prestigious brand of
fruits and vegetables in the world.
The Ecuadorian Banana Union SA (Ubesa), owned
by German investors, was founded in 1958. There-
after, they have undertaken a series of major invest-
ments, such as banana plantations and a factory
producing cartons.
Currently, Ubesa is a diversified company that is
comprised of many different business lines that pro-
vide various services to main operations, such as a
container terminals, ports and agricultural zones.
Ubesa operates banana plantations located in the
best areas of the country, most of which belong to
independent producers. Apart from bananas, it pro-
cesses pineapples, mangos, cucumbers and papa-
yas, but in smaller quantities.
The company exports its products to the USA, Eu-
rope, Asia and the Middle East, generating an im-
portant source of revenue for the country. They were
pioneers in the use of modern irrigation technolo-
gies, underground drainage, overhead cabling, fertil-
ization programs and aerial spraying control.
Moreover, Ubesa provides continuous training to its
employees both within and outside the country. As
a result the company has a skilled team of local pro-
fessionals.
Since 1993, they initiated the implementation of the
program of Total Quality Management (TQM). The
primary goal of which is to ensure continuous im-
provement of all processes. This corporate culture
fosters a positive work environment for their employ-
ees and absolute excellence in every organizational
area.
This constant pursuit of excellence helped Ubesa to
obtain an international quality certification ISO 9002
in December 1997.
Dole-Ecuador is also committed to protecting the
environment. Thus, the company has developed
and implemented environmental programs for re-
sponsible agricultural development. It was actively
involved in the promulgation of the Regulation of
Banana and Sanitation. In November 1998, UBESA
obtained ISO:14001 certification that guarantees the
existence of an Environmental Management Sys-
tem, which is based on policies, procedures, pro-
grams and plans aimed at sustainable development
of natural resources.
In recent years, Dole Ecuador has diversified its pro-
duction with a pineapple farm in the province of Los
Rios, and an organic banana farm in the province
of Manabi.
Their global headquarters are located in the USA,
while the regional one for Latin America is based in
Costa Rica. They sell 30 million boxes per year (ap-
proximately $350 million USD) and they have 13%
of the market share making them one of the largest
companies in this sector.
Dole is working with producers on a long-term ba-
sis. We have producers who have worked with us for
over 50 years. The loyalty of our producers and the
quality of bananas that we provide are exceptional.
Peter Gilmore
General Manager UBESA (Dole Group)