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Melissa?s welcomes its namesake with open arms

Melissa?s/World Variety Produce, the world-renowned specialty produce distributor based in Los Angeles, has a new employee in its ranks. The employee is not unlike other recent college grads in that she has the youthful exuberance and drive that companies look for when taking a chance on new hires. But what sets this candidate apart is that she happens to be the namesake of the company which now employs her. Melissa Hernandez " the "Melissa? for whom the company is named " officially joined Melissa?s/World Variety Produce at the start of 2005 after having graduated from the University of

Duda goes iceless with its broccoli

OVIEDO, FL " A. Duda & Sons, a major grower, shipper and marketer of fresh produce, announced that it will begin shipping iceless broccoli using a new patented system developed by StePac USA, an agri-tech company that specializes in providing post-harvest solutions for the fresh produce industry. The system uses programmable logic controllers that precisely monitor product quality at critical points throughout the cooling process, as well as a total packaging system that extends shelf life. A unique feature of the system is the ability to provide customers with quality-assurance documentation

Chile projecting another record-breaking season

Encouraged by the prospects of an exceptional table grape harvest, Chile?s fresh fruit industry is expecting another record-setting export season. Unexpected rains in early November that drenched many cherry and early apricot export plans and set back harvest times for most crops by seven to 10 days, are seen as only temporary setbacks, according to a December 2004 press release from the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association in Sacramento, CA. Fresh fruit exports last season grew by 11 percent to a record 217 million cases, led by a 28 percent export surge to the European Union. Fruit exports to the

Longtime saleswoman has retired from T&A

SALINAS, CA " Rosalie Pollard has called it a career after working 39 years for the Antle family. Ms. Pollard started her lengthy sales career in produce working at the former Bud Antle Inc., here. Now 61, Ms. Pollard started her career in produce in 1966 working for Bud Antle as his receptionist and secretary. This continued for about 18 months until Mr. Antle asked her if she would like to move into sales. Ms. Pollard recalls picking up the phones in those early days in the adjacent sales department as a way of helping out. At the time, there were few women in the produce industry handling

Tom Sakata remembered as a dedicated produce pro

When Tom Sakata died Dec. 14, he didn?t leave a void in the daily functioning of Los Gatos, CA-based broker-distributor Bay Area Produce Inc. But he did leave a void in the hearts of people he?d worked with through a roughly 25-year career with the company. Mr. Sakata died of heart failure, a demise foreshadowed by the major heart attack he suffered eight years ago. He had retired from his position as chief operating officer and salesman at Bay Area Produce in 2003. Then 62, Mr. Sakata had been the one to teach new salespeople the ropes, said Bay Area Produce partner Hank Imwalle. ?He was a

Summeripe adds Simonian

Summeripe Worldwide Inc. of Dinuba, CA, announced the addition of Simonian Fruit Co. of Fowler, CA to the Summeripe Alliance of tree fruit shippers. Simonian is a multigenerational, diversified family-farming company with a long tradition of quality growing and involvement in the California tree fruit industry. Pat Steider, president of Summeripe Worldwide Inc., stated, "The joining of Simonian will further strengthen and expand the Summeripe Alliance to address the increasing demand by retailers and customers for Summeripe ready-to-eat tree fruit. Simonian?s quality and tradition of personal
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For nearly a century, officials at Consalo Family Farms have emphasized family values to focus on building and maintaining relationships with their customers. That means offering a wide range of quality product at fair price points and backing those products with the proper amount of marketing support. 

Today, the family business, which was founded by Willliam Consalo Sr. in 1927, when he started buying fresh produce and traveling to sell crops throughout the region, is run by its fourth generation of family members.

Like previous generations, this group of owners continue to focus on consistency and showing the produce industry that they are very serious about how they continue to operate the Vineland, NJ-based company.

The key, they said, is to keep doing what others have done for so long and so well and adapting to changing times by adding a focus on new technologies, equipment and, of course, new ideas to stay ahead of the curve in the competitive and demanding produce industry. 

On the eve of the New York Produce Show, the family members who operate the fully-integrated, year-round operation that also provides expertise in shipping, growing, imports and packaging, remain committed to those company ethos that have such a great track record. Once again, they are extremely confident that the show will serve as a great opportunity to interact with new and existing clients and get their message out.

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