Jun 12, 2025

Back when the PRONATEC Swiss Cocoa Production plant was built in Beringen, it was clear that a company like ours absolutely had to have solar panels on our production building. But we needed to be patient before the plans could be implemented. In addition to internal capacity constraints, the structural properties of the building also presented a challenge to the project team. The reason for this was that the production hall was built close to its structural load limit, which meant that only 20 % of the roof surface was suitable for solar panels. This particular starting point made planning incredibly challenging. The search for reliable suppliers of photovoltaic systems also took a great deal of time, as they needed to align with both our project requirements and our commitment to the environment.

PRONATEC Production in Beringen

In Fortis Solar, a photovoltaics specialist from St. Gallen, PRONATEC finally found a partner that is impressive across the board, from technical implementation through to its long-term direction. Fortis Solar has financed, built and now maintains the solar panels, while we will purchase the electricity generated. After 25 years, the amount will be amortised and the panels will become our property.

David Yersin, CEO of PRONATEC

While the planning phase took a long time on paper, the implementation phase in practice was short. Our partnership with Fortis Solar kicked off at the end of March, with the initial preliminary work on the production hall roof starting at the beginning of April. Once the solar panels were delivered in mid-May, the actual installation was speedy, taking just three weeks. This efficient process was made possible by the use of a helicopter, which transported the panels to the roof quickly and precisely. Commissioning took place before the calendrical start of summer: PRONATEC has been a proud producer of its own solar power since mid-June 2025.

The plan is to use as much of the self-produced solar power as possible for production processes directly on site, in order to achieve a good degree of self-sufficiency, i.e. the proportion of the overall energy requirement produced by our photovoltaic system. We also see potential for optimising how we use the electricity. For example, some energy-intensive, autonomous background processes could be moved to lunchtime or the weekend.

For PRONATEC, the new solar panels are more than an investment in future-oriented technology. As a pioneer of organic, fair trade products in Switzerland, we want to take responsibility and actively shape environmentally friendly solutions both globally and locally – from the source through to delivery. By using solar power, we have generated ourselves, we are taking a further consistent step towards climate neutrality and expressing our own sustainability ambitions, which stretch across the entire value creation chain.

E-trucks with solar power for liquid deliveries in Switzerland

Nicolas Merky, Head of Sustainability and Projects at PRONATEC