Univeg-owned Seald Sweet International has announced that it is expanding its operation on the west coast of the US through a partnership with Fresh Select, a new packing and cold storage facility located in Dinuba, California.
According to the group, the new agreement 'substantially increases' Seald Sweet West's volume and production capacity for domestic and imported fresh produce, with the West sales office also relocating to the new facility.
The Fresh Select facility is around 110,000ft2, consisting of two-thirds processing and one-third cold storage, with controlled atmosphere packing rooms equipped for specialised packing, and a total annual potential of product capacity coming in at 2.5m cartons of fresh citrus.
'As part of our strategic plan, the expansion of our California operations not only substantially increases our production capacity but further underscores our commitment to our customers and growers,' said Mayda Sotomayor, CEO of Seald Sweet. 'Fresh Select is a high calibre facility an this partnership is a perfect fit for our quality and growth objectives.'
Scott Critchley, managing partner and owner of Fresh Select, was equally enthused: 'We are excited to have a partner like Seald Sweet for this joint venture and look forward to the tremendous growth opportunities this brings to both companies.'
Fresh citrus from the central San Joaquin Valley will be the focus of initial programmes for the new partnership, and the facility is expected to see Seald Sweet 'dramatically expand' is direct involvement in both packing and marketing from the region in the 2011/12 season. New programmes for the Fresh Select facility will also include other products such as grapes and cherries.
Eastes to head up Seald Sweet West
In a separate announcement, Seald Sweet has since revealed that produce industry veteran Rick Eastes took over as general manager of its West Coast sales and marketing operations on 19 September.
With his substantial experience in growing, packing and marketing and particular strengths in the global arena, Eastes will focus in his new role on integrating Seald Sweet's many international and domestic synergies to benefit its buyers and its California growers.
'Rick's diverse global fresh produce experience will be valuable not only to our California operations, but will also be important in how Seald Sweet and Univeg continue to expand services to our international grower and customer base in the global marketplace,' said Sotomayor. 'Our new relationship with Fresh Select coupled with Rick's arrival will bring our west coast operations to new heights.'
No comments yet