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Austria's Vegetable & Fruit King

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Haydar Guner,the Onur Group companies founder.

Vienna, Austria-
The story began in a small, 55 square meter greengrocery. You might be able to guess the end of the tale from its title. Haydar Güner was just 21 years old when he came to Vienna in 1985 after cutting short his university education halfway through his studies. He started off by selling retail vegetables and fruit in the oldest market in Vienna. He left that job and started to work in a cleaning company.
He bought his first shop in 1990, and this 55 square meter greengrocery provided his first experience as an entrepreneur. Haydar Güner and his wife Yeter sold vegetables and fruit in their shop for ten years. He started a wholesale vegetable-fruit import business in 1993 and named his company after his seven-year old son: Onur Impex.

Presently, the Onur Group companies owned by Haydar Güner are Austria’s number one vegetable-fruit import dealers. He says that they are among the top three companies in Europe. Güner, who opened places in Stutgart and Düsseldorf after Vienna, began to export vegetables and fruit to Austria via the export company he established in Turkey in 1998. The Turkish based company carries the name of his younger son Andıç: Andıç Food.

Güner has facilities in cities such as Bursa and Afyon, with the head office being in Antalya. He stores his produce in a 20,000 square meter cold storage plant.  

Güner, who sells not only to Turkish markets in Austria, but to large chain stores as well, imports most of his produce from the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. He imports approximately 180 different kinds of products. A total of 250 employees work in his two companies.

Güner, who imports around 20,000 tons of vegetables and fruit to Austria, says that the export company that they established in Turkey in 1998 has played a significant role in the expansion of the company. He comments: “Taking a risk needed much courage; however. I had the support of my whole family. My wife was my greatest helper and the knowledge that she was behind me was worth millions of Euro.”
 
THE LARGEST TURKISH RESTAURANT IN VIENNA
In 2001, Güner, who is also experienced in the food sector in addition to the vegetable-fruit trade, opened a restaurant in District 10 Vienna. In February 2008, he handed this restaurant over to someone else and last June opened one of the largest restaurants on the shore of the Danube in Austria. The restaurant, Sofra, has indoor seating for 120 and an outdoor seating area that can serve up to 1200 people. 

The restaurant, which is expected to cost 1.4 million Euro when completed, is centrally located across from the United Nations buildings, near the fair-assembly center and the soccer stadium in Vienna.  The restaurant, which will initially employ 30 people, was previously used as a beer garden . Güner and his partner Rıza Demir, who has 30 years of work experience in the Inter Continental Hotel, signed a 25 year lease on the place--which belongs to the Vienna Harbor. Güner says, “There is no other restaurant of this size in Vienna. We plan to introduce Turkish cuisine and the Turkish hospitality to our customers here.”

In addition to this investment in the restaurant, Güner has also started a new venture in the retail sector. Last July he opened the 457 square meter Onur Supermarket in Sankt Pölten, the capital of Lower Austria.
Last modified onSaturday, 06 May 2017 10:07
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