Konstantinos Carlos: The businessman who put bananas in houses has died

At the age of 78, the paternal customs officer passed away on Thursday Constantine Carlosfounder of Karlos Enterprises, who inextricably linked his name with history of the banana in Greece.

Konstantinos Carlos started his career in 1966 as a customs officer at the port of Patras. In 1984 it expanded to sea and land transport from Patras to Ancona and Trieste in Italy, while also opening a travel agency in Othonos Amalias.

At the same time, he started cooperation with tobacco companies, taking over the collection of tobacco and its shipment, in the ports of Messolonghi, Volos, Amfilochia and Nafplion.

A major milestone in the history of the company and of him personally, was banana imports. It is no exaggeration to emphasize that Constantinos Carlos he put the banana in the houses of the Greeks. Until 1988 the importation of the exotic fruit was rare due to customs restrictions. With the opening of international trade, Konstantinos Carlos saw the great opportunity and started from the port of Patras, the exclusive agency of the product for all of Greece.

Due to bureaucratic and other problems, he moved the activity to the port of Aegis, where he invested heavily in infrastructure and in the training of port workers.

The Port of Aegis served for decades, thousands of ships of the largest banana exporters such as Chiquita, Bonita and Dole and became a transit gateway from South America and terminal for Chiquita for almost 30 years.

The business of Constantinos Karlos expanded a little later to the port of Nea Peramos – Kavala, while from 2000, he added to his portfolio the activity of growing fresh fish and trading seafood, with privately owned refrigerator trucks for their transport to EU countries.

In 2012 the company started its new facilities in the port of Thessaloniki, while it has a presence in Piraeus and Volos. To this day, the headquarters of Karlos Enteprises remain at the 28th of October Square in Patras.

The deceased was married to Adriana Karlos and was the father of two children, Nikolaos and Golfos, who today take over the reins of Karlos Enterprises. He was also the grandfather of two grandsons.

Konstantinos Carlos was a man who helped not only his family, but also offered to society, always having an empathy, giving job opportunities and perspective. Those who knew him closely say that “he left flowers, fruits and seeds in the world. He was innovative in his professional field and loved to create, but above all he was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, but also a bright beacon.”

The funeral of Konstantinos Karlos will take place at 11 in the morning from the new Holy Church of Agios Andreas in Patras and the burial in the Bodeikos cemetery.

His family’s request is that instead of wreaths, donations be made in favor of the Constantopoulios Nursing Foundation of Patras.

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