Tim Espley has returned to Fresca’s Fresh Produce Centre as managing director following a spell at Waitrose fruit supplier Primafruit.
The appointment brings Espley back to Kent from Evesham where he has been overseeing the recent extension of facilities at Primafruit, which is also owned by Fresca.
Having been operations director for Fresca since 2007 and a member of the Fresca Group executive team, Espley is very familiar with the companies and facilities at Fresca’s flagship site in Paddock Wood, Kent.
The Fresh Produce Centre is the facility from where several of the Fresca businesses operate, including Mack Fruit, Fresh Plus and The Avocado Company. Espley’s new responsibilities extend across all activity at the site and also include DGM Growers in Holbeach, Lincolnshire.
Fresca’s chief executive Ian Craig said: “Tim is a well-known and popular member of our team; he’ll be bringing a genuine wealth of experience to a business that has been through a significant amount of change in recent times. His commercial acumen is strong, and it is a pleasure to be able to add broader responsibilities to his role.”
Espley’s new role will see him look for new business for Mack Fruit; develop the “agility and responsiveness” of service provision arm FreshPLUS; and help The Avocado Company to “deliver its full growth potential”, according to Fresca.
“There is an incredibly strong and experienced team at Paddock Wood and at Holbeach and I am proud to return to The Fresh Produce Centre as its MD,” said Espley.
“With change still very much in the air among our customers and supply chain and in the world at large, we’re going to need to draw on all our skills to maintain our momentum. It will be a genuine pleasure to lead this complex business into its next phase of growth.”
