Ellie Coen proud to follow in her mother's footsteps
Ellie Coen's mother always said that her daughter would love working in the produce industry. It turns out that mom was right. "She was an inspiration to me," the 28-year-old account manager for Dovex Marketing in Wenatchee, WA, said of B.J. Holland, who died just over a year-and-a-half ago. Well known in the Wenatchee Valley fruit business, Ms. Holland had her own pear orchard, which is still managed by her husband, and had worked over the last 12 to 15 years in sales for Dovex as well as for Stemilt Growers and Gwin, White & Prince Inc., also in Wenatchee.
Some 'paperless' transactions require paper PACA Trust notices
Ironically, the effort to go paperless with invoicing has created situations where sellers must fax hard-copy PACA Trust notices to preserve their priority rights under the law.
Bruce Summers, chief of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, recently explained the growing issue to the Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Board and reiterated the quandary in a recent interview with The Produce News.
Prime Produce International relocates to office and cold storage facility near Anaheim
Prime Produce International LLC, an avocado marketing organization in Lake Forest, CA, is relocating its corporate offices to Placentia, CA, near Anaheim, where the company will now also operate its own cold storage facility, according to Prime Produce President and CEO Avi Crane.
The move will allow the company to better serve customers and growers, he said.
Prime Produce, which sources avocados both domestically and globally, was founded in early 2004 by Mr. Crane, an avocado industry veteran.
Former Ocean Mist executive launches marketing company
MONTEREY, CA In mid-April, Maggie Bezart left a high-profile position as vice president of marketing and sales for Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms. She has resurfaced with a consulting business Maggie Bezart Marketing Services aimed at the fresh produce industry.
The 25-year produce industry veteran's stated mission is to be "the most productive marketing service company for the produce industry." Her services will include assisting companies in marketing, advertising, and setting goals and strategies for growing their businesses.
John Allan of Crews & Garcia dies at 57
John Allan, assistant office manager at Crews & Garcia Inc. in Tampa, FL, and owner of All Seasons Nursery in Seffner, FL, died July 21 after a 10-year battle with cancer. He was 57 years old.
Mr. Allan got his start in the produce industry in 1973 at Ruskin Packaging Inc. in Ruskin, FL, where he managed the packinghouse, said Ernest (Cookie) Garcia, president of Crews & Garcia. By 1989, Mr. Allan was running operations at Crews & Garcia, but left the company to start his own business, All Seasons Nursery.
New agency changes B.C. greenhouse landscape
The B.C. Vegetable Marketing Commission has named a fourth agency to control a slice of the province's greenhouse vegetable pie.
Country Fresh Produce Inc., appointed on June 15, combines the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers grown by Houweling Nurseries Ltd. and South Alder Greenhouses Ltd. of Delta, and Topgro Greenhouses Ltd. of Langley, BC, under one distribution umbrella. The Country Fresh Produce agency will rely on The Oppenheimer Group in Vancouver as its sales, marketing and logistics partner.
RETAIL VIEW: Shippers shouldn't delay move to RFID, says Wal-Mart
Unless shippers think the top retailers in the nation are mistaken about the future, they shouldn't delay in at least getting started on an RFID system, according to Bruce Peterson of Wal-Mart. Mr. Peterson, who is the giant chains well-known senior vice president and general merchandising manager of perishables, is also an outspoken advocate of radio frequency identification the technology that allows for the tagging of merchandise with a computer chip and the tracking of that product through a base station with no human input.
Tops concentrates its efforts
Tops Markets, which is owned by Ahold USA, has announced that it will sell its 31 stores in eastern New York to focus on its core markets in western New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In a company statement, the retailer said that it has reached agreement to sell six of the 31 stores to Price Chopper, and it is looking for buyers for the other 25 stores.
Tops plans to use the capital raised from the transactions for updates to the company's new prototype, Martins Super Food Stores, which debuted in Perinton, NY, last September.
Matt Simis promoted to director of strategy at T&A
Tanimura & Antle in Spreckles, CA, announced July 27 that Matt Simis has been promoted to director of strategy, reporting directly to CEO Rick Antle, whom he will assist in developing strategic direction for Tanimura & Antle and its affiliated companies.
New PMA foodservice board takes office in Monterey
NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association welcomed its 2005-06 foodservice board of directors, which took office during the PMA Foodservice Conference, Tours & Expo, July 23-25, in Monterey, CA.
Foodservice Board Chairman Gene Harris, senior p urchasing manager for Denny's Corp. in Spartanburg, SC, is joined by 16 directors. They are:
* Leonard Batti, vice president of production and processing at NewStar in Salinas, CA.
* Steve Bleeker, corporate manager of sourcing and procurement at The Walt Disney Co. in Orlando, FL.