Dinuba, California USA – Seald Sweet International has announced a major expansion of the company’s west coast operations through a partnership with Fresh Select, a new state-of-the-art packing and cold storage facility, located in Dinuba, California. The agreement substantially increases Seald Sweet West’s overall volume and production capacity of domestic and imported fresh produce. Seald Sweet West’s sales offices will also relocate to the new facility, enabling the sales and production teams to operate within the same location.
The Fresh Select facility is approximately one hundred and ten thousand square feet with nearly a third of that in cold storage and two thirds in processing. Controlled atmosphere packing rooms in the facility are equipped for specialized packing of a wide range of commodities. Total annual potential of product capacity is estimated at 2.5 million cartons of fresh citrus fruit.
“As part of our strategic plan, the expansion of our California operations not only substantially increases our production capacity but further underscores our commitment to our customers and growers,” says Mayda Sotomayor, CEO of Seald Sweet. “Fresh Select is a high caliber facility and this partnership is a perfect fit for our quality and growth objectives.”
Scott Critchley, managing partner and owner of Fresh Select stated “We are excited to have a partner like Seald Sweet for this joint venture and look forward to the tremendous growth opportunities this brings to both companies.”
Initial programs of the new partnership include fresh citrus from the central San Joaquin Valley, dramatically expanding Seald Sweet’s direct involvement in both packing and marketing in this region for the 2011-2012 citrus season. In addition to California fresh citrus, Seald-Sweet’s new programs with the Fresh Select facility will include production of other commodities such as grapes and cherries.
This continues to strengthen the company’s overall position in the US and with Univeg, Seald Sweet’s Belgium-based parent company and one of the top five largest produce companies worldwide.
Source: Seald Sweet International