Market Fresh Produce LLC in Nixa, MO, and Bushmans' Inc. in Rosholt, WI, announced that they have merged, effective Oct. 1, with the goal of creating best-in-class efficiencies within the produce industry. Steven Phipps, owner and chief executive officer of Market Fresh Produce, told The Produce News Oct. 6 that the merger brings together two strong and vibrant companies, and that it unites the "Market Fresh" brand with a century-old corporation. “No internal changes are taking place for either company, except that we are combining our synergies,” said Mr. Phipps. “The transition will combine

Washington's tree fruit industry is mourning the death of Gladwin Bellamy Jr., president of Columbia Marketing International in Wenatchee, WA, who died unexpectedly Oct. 1. Mr. Bellamy, known to his friends and co-workers as Glady, was 58. Born in Goldendale, WA, in 1952 to Gladwin and Ruth Bellamy, Mr. Bellamy grew up in central California and graduated from Lodi High School in 1970 before continuing his studies at Sacramento State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. In 2001, Mr. Bellamy — who was an avid basketball player — was inducted into the Lodi Sports Hall of

Two Florida-based produce marketers are joining forces to create a new entity that will specialize in sourcing, growing, packing, shipping and distributing several varieties of papayas as well as other tropical fruits grown in Brazil, Ecuador, Belize, Mexico and other countries in Central America and South America. Southern Specialties Inc., based in Pompano Beach, FL, and HLB Tropical Food USA Inc., based in Plantation, FL, reached an agreement to create a new joint venture called HLB Specialties LLC. HLB Specialties will be headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, and will distribute from its

Building on the success of last year's program, the Chilean Avocado Importers Association has again partnered with college football’s premier bowl game destination, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, which will be played Jan. 1, 2011, in Glendale, AZ. Additionally, CAIA has expanded on this partnership to sponsor the Insight Bowl and college football’s biggest game: the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship game on Jan. 10. This sponsorship opportunity gives CAIA on- premise visibility among hundreds of thousands of college football fans — and an all-expenses-paid trip for one lucky grand prize

NEWARK, DE — To encourage the produce industry to think differently about the concept of value, Bryan Silbermann, Produce Marketing Association's president and chief executive officer, will charge the industry to look beyond price alone for ways to connect to consumers’ personal values when he presents his annual state of the industry address this year. Mr. Silbermann will deliver the 2010 installment of his popular annual address Oct. 15 as the keynote speaker at the opening luncheon general session of PMA’s 2010 International Convention & Exposition, known as Fresh Summit, Oct. 15-18 in

It won't be a record crop, but the 2010 California kiwifruit harvest is expected to yield a packout that is up significantly from last year and on the high side of average. According to Nick Matteis, the assistant manager of the California Kiwifruit Commission, the commission’s executive committee met Sept. 29, just as the new harvest was getting underway, and approved an estimate of 7.5 million to 8 million tray-equivalents for the 2010 crop. That is a jump from the official 6.5 million-tray estimate made earlier this summer. Part of what changed, according to Mr. Matteis, is that mild