Prigat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prigat (Hebrew: פריגת) (originally called Gat) is a juice and syrup manufacturer in Israel owned by Gat Foods and Israel Beer Breweries. Prigat's headquarters are located in two kibbutzim, Givat Haim (Meuhad) and Givat Haim (Ichud), near Hadera.[1] Prigat is Israel's second largest manufacturer in the juice industry, with 280 employees as of 2006.[2][3]
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[edit] Timeline of company history
[edit] 1940s and 1950s
- Prigat was founded in 1940 when the leaders of the Givat Chaim kibbutz decided to build a factory for canned fruit and vegetable products.
- In 1941, the factory was named "Gat" and quickly began the marketing of the company's first products, which were jams, tomato puree and applesauce.
- In 1943, the British Army in Palestine ordered 775,000 syrup bottles for 55,000 Land of Israel pounds (the Israeli currency at the time of the order).
- Starting from 1947, the company began using mechanical juice extraction based on the FMC citrus juice extractor, which finished developing the same year.[4]
- In 1957, Prigat began marketing sweetcorn seeds in tin cans.
- In 1958, Golda Meir, who was a foreign minister at the time, approved the "Jaffa Champion" company trademark for marketing outside of Israel.
- In 1959, the company's peanut factory was established. The peanut factory was later separated from Prigat's juice activities and is not handled by Prigat today.
[edit] 1960s and 1970s
- In 1962, the company's frozen juice and vegetables department was established.
- In 1972, Gat won the best exporter award for 1971.
- In 1976, a plastic factory for the 6oz frozen juice and vegetables boxes was established.
- In 1977, the "Prigat" trademark was first used referring to the frozen food department of the company.
[edit] 1980s and 1990s
- In 1982, Prigat's production line for juice in small bags was established.
- In 1987, Prigat's production line for juice in cardboards was established.
- In 1993, Prigat began marketing in Romania.
- In 1995, Prigat's production line for squeezed juice was established.
[edit] 2000s
- In 2003, Prigat's merge with Israel Beer Breweries was completed.
[edit] International activity
Prigat primarily markets in Israel; however, it contains products and/or exports to 15 other countries as well: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, England, France, Ghana, Hungary, Kenya, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, South Africa, Spain and the US.[5][6] Prigat overseas export revenue is estimated at US$65.5 million as of 2006,[3] 59.5% of their total revenue.[3]
In 2003, Prigat held 37% of the non-carbonated soft drinks market in Romania, according to market research quoted by the company.[7]
[edit] Jewish National Fund involvement
Prigat has also been involved with the non-profit Jewish National Fund.[8] As of 2006, Prigat spent a total of ₪3 million NIS on treeplanting, of which 2 million square metres of orchards were planted in the Negev area.[8] Following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Prigat sent the company's employees to restore the Biria forest after numerous Katyusha falls in the area.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Prigat emphasizes the differences among the soft drinks category (Hebrew). nfc.co.il. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ At the first time in the juice market: "orange juice with refined sourness"! (Hebrew). nfc.co.il. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ a b c Largest Kibbutz Industry Companies. duns100.dundb.co.il. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ FMC citrus juice extractor. asme.org. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ Prigat worldwide. prigat.com. Retrieved on November 12, 2006.
- ^ Export. prigat.com. Retrieved on November 12, 2006.
- ^ Prigat gets half of QAB's investments. business-Romania.blogspot.com. Retrieved on October 27, 2006.
- ^ a b c Prigat returns love to nature (Hebrew). nfc.co.il. Retrieved on October 31, 2006.
