Fingerling potatoes are playing an increasingly important role in the current and future offerings of Bancroft, WI-based RPE Produce, Inc.

Randy Shell, RPE’s vice president of marketing and new business development, detailed this in an interview with The Produce News.

MIAMI — A gentleman. Humble. Hard-working. Those were just a few of the oft-repeated words used to describe Joe Procacci, chairman and chief executive officer of Procacci Bros. Sales Corp., who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Fresh Produce Association at its annual Winter Leadership Meeting, held Jan. 21-23 at the Trump National Doral Country Club, here.

One California shipper said it a "classic example of beautiful weather out here (California) combining with terrible weather in the East to produce cheap low markets."

David Cook, sales manager for Deardorff Family Farms, Oxnard, CA, said "we have had gorgeous weather for weeks on end. It seems our winter came during a two week period in early December and it has been beautiful ever since."

He said that has led to better than usual supplies and East Coast movement that is down a bit because of the terrible weather.

FoodLink, a leader in supply chain and commerce solutions for the fresh food industry, reported a fourth consecutive year of record growth in 2013. The company signed more than 40 new produce traceability customers, enabled record levels of network commerce and was named the industry’s best new food-safety solution.

MIAMI — Joe Procacci, chairman and chief executive officer of Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. in Philadelphia, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award Jan. 21 at the United Fresh Winter Leadership Meeting, here. Several hundred members of the industry gathered at the Trump National Doral Country Club, here, to celebrate Procacci's storied career in the produce industry.

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TAMPA, FL — Industry veteran Andrew Scott has joined Coosemans Interproduce Divisions as director of sales and marketing.

Scott will be based in Atlanta and oversee Coosemans Interproduce Division's five operations in Tampa, FL, Miami, Dallas, Cleveland and San Francisco.