Two leading Florida citrus companies have announced that they are to merge their packing operations, creating one of the state’s largest packers. From the 2014/15 season, Greene River Packing and Leroy Smith Inc. will pack from Greene River’s current facility in Vero Beach.
Greene River president Pat Rodgers said the deal would cut costs and lead to increased efficiencies. It gives the company access to greater degreening capacity and doubles its coldstorage capacity.
“We are very pleased with this operating merger and feels that it positions us well as we navigate through some challenging times in the Florida citrus industry,” Rodgers said. “We are excited about the relationship from both a business and personal perspective. Having worked closely with the Smith family for over 20 years, we respect their operating style and their commitment to the Florida citrus industry, and we enjoy a strong personal relationship with the Smiths.”
Greene River Marketing currently handles North American sales for Leroy Smith, Riverfront Packing and Oslo Citrus. Together, the four companies packed 4m cartons of grapefruit, oranges and tangerines last season.
Smith Trading said it would continue to handle its export marketing programme with established customers throughout Europe and Asia.
Trey Smith, the company’s vice president, said he was looking forward to working more closely with Greene River. “Florida's fresh citrus has been declining for the past decade and our new business model is essential for providing our customers with the highest quality Florida citrus while at the same time maximising our grower returns,” he said. “I expect to see further consolidation within the Florida citrus industry. It just makes sense to merge two quality operations into one.”
Together, the two companies have almost 2,000ha of fresh Florida grapefruit, oranges and tangerines and have been investing in new acreage in the Indian Citrus River area.
