United president challenges industry to double consumption
LA MIRADA, CA If the produce industry changes its focus and alters the way it does business, it can double consumption of its products, according to Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of the Washington, DC-based United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association.
Drowning claims life of Frontier Produce owner Michael Hickson
Michael D. Hickson, co-owner of Frontier Produce in Tulsa, OK, died Sept. 11.
Mr. Hickson, 49, was the victim of an accidental drowning in a swimming pool at his home in Tulsa, according to his partner and brother-in-law, Robert DeWitt.
Mr. Hickson was born and raised in Perry, OK, and was a graduate of the public school system there.
Charles Hanline Jr. , Stambaugh & Co. vice president, dies in plane crash
Charles F. Hanline Jr., executive vice president of John F. Stambaugh & Co. Inc. in Plymouth, OH, died Sept. 18 as the result of injuries sustained when the private plane he was piloting crashed shortly after take-off from Seneca County Airport in Tiffin, OH.
Mr. Hanline was 56 and a resident of Willard, OH. He was born in Shelby, OH, and was a graduate of Plymouth High School and Ohio State University.
New hydrocooler helps Southern Specialties keep pace at California facility
Charlie Eagle, vice president of business development for Southern Specialties, headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, recently announced that the company installed a hydrocooler in its Santa Fe Springs, CA, facility.
SALINAS SCENE: Driscoll Strawberry Associates names director of packaging
Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. announced the appointment of Lynn Avery to the newly created position of director of packaging.
Mr. Avery, who joined Driscoll July 15, has 30 years of packaging experience, most recently as director of purchasing for Earthbound Farms. His experience also includes management roles with several Fortune 500 packaging companies and the management of supplier alliances for the Coca Cola Co.
United and SPC to partner on regional 'Educational Road Show'
The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Southeast Produce Council announced that they will join forces in a series of regional educational programs for their members.
The SPC is rolling out its new "Educational Road Show" program developed in partnership with United to reach out to the organizations' members in various cities throughout the Southeast. United will work with SPC to develop quality education programs and bring in expert speakers.
Agreement brings grapes into Birds Eye Fresh fold
Fresh grapes will be branded under the "Birds Eye Fresh" label as the result of a new marketing agreement reached Sept. 23 between Rochester, NY-based Birds Eye Foods and Pandol Associates Marketing Inc. in Delano, CA.
Lyn Hughes, senior marketing manager for Birds Eye Fresh, told The Produce News that the company had been looking to add grapes to its product line for some time, and that she and Jim Pandol of Pandol Associates initiated talks last May during the United Produce Show in Chicago.
Idaho potato acreage is down 10 percent as growers see better prices on early harvest
There were just too many potatoes on the market.
Freeport is OK for banana trade
"Freeport is intact and appears to have weathered Hurricane Rita relatively well," Mike Mitchell, director of corporate communications for Chiquita Brands International Inc. in Cincinnati, said Sept. 26, The port of Freeport [in Texas] has told us that the ship channel is currently open for daylight vessel movements. They are awaiting survey results from the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, but reports indicate that the ship channel is expected to be open sometime Tuesday [the Sept. 27] or Wednesday for 24-hour traffic.
Chile freeze may prove beneficial as crop thinner
PHILADELPHIA The extent of fruit damage from a freeze in Chilean vineyards and orchards on, and to a lesser extent before, Sept. 12 remains something of a mystery. Scattered areas in Chile had a freeze on Sept. 12, but there were lesser freezes in the country running from late August until Sept. 12.
Jim Pandol of Pandol Associates Marketing Inc. in Delano, CA, said Sept. 27 that the impact of the cold weather on Chile's fruit exports will be "significant but not disastrous."