07/02/2007
Tracy, CA-based Pacific Triple E Ltd. has rebuilt its entire production line here for its Roma tomatoes, installing five eight-lane MAF optic sizers.

The upgrades to Pacific Triple E's packingshed could increase the company's production speed by as much as 30 percent, according to Billy Heller, chief executive officer. The new system should "increase yields by 5 to 12 percent and give us greater flexibility," he said.

These efficiencies will lead to further cost savings for the company through a reduction in the labor needed in the packingshed. By the end of the season, the work crew of 160 in the shed will be reduced by perhaps more than 50 percent, Mr. Heller said.

The company began running its new system, which grades by computer, in mid-June, and it expects the line to be fully functioning by early July. "The sizing and color [are] by pixel," Mr. Heller said, adding that the color determination is very precise and eliminates subjectivity. Now in one- fourteenth of a second, a Roma tomato's size and color can be assessed by computer to determine whether the next step is to gas the tomato or put it straight into a carton.

The upgraded Tracy plant has a dry system using brushes where tomatoes are misted, scrubbed, graded and dried. The facility has automatic bin fillers and automatic palletizers and "comes close to an automated shed," Mr. Heller said.

Pacific Triple E is also enhancing its grape tomato line with optical grading and sorting to increase capacity and flexibility while reducing labor needs, Mr. Heller said. The line is separate from the one used for Roma tomatoes, but it is in the same building. The grape tomato line's completion is still several weeks away.

In the near future, the company will realize "huge gains" with comparable technology for its grape tomato operations in Florida, Mr. Heller said.

    Seventh Annual SUNRIPE Golf Classic rakes in $106,000 for migrant worker endowment.

    By Doug Ohlemeier, Staff Writer

    The 144 golfers who participated in the Seventh Annual SUNRIPE Golf Classic raised an endowment fund, which supports migrant workers and their children, to more than $1 million.

    The benefit April 22 at the Arnold Palmer-designed Legacy Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., generated $106,000 and pushed the contributions for the University of South Florida's College of Education scholarship to $1.05 million.

    Because the owners of the companies that market SUNRIPE branded tomatoes and vegetables underwrite all of the annual tournament's costs, including catering, drink stands and other incidentals, 100% of contributions fund the scholarships.

    Billy Heller, chief executive officer of Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd., Palmetto, Fla., one of the tournament co-sponsors, said SUNRIPE and its industry partners have created a legacy that it looks forward to being a part of for many years.

    "It has been more than we could have ever hoped for," Heller said.

    "With the scholarship, we are providing access to a quality education for people who could not even have considered going to college because they couldn't have afforded it. We are proud to be a part of this effort."

    Industry sponsorships that include tee boxes, flags and banners help generate the scholarship funds, which support a dozen migrant worker students.

    William Gross, Pacific Tomato's marketing coordinator of 16 years, started the benefit. He retired April 28.

    Thanks to support of SUNRIPE’S owners, Gross said the tournament will continue.

    "They got behind it not just intellectually but financially as well," Gross said. "It wouldn't have been possible for me to do without their full support and cooperation."

    Ann Cranston-Gringras, a professor of special education and director of the center for migrant education at the Tampa-based university, said several students who have received the scholarship are now teaching in migrant communities.

    "The effort shows the produce industry's commitment to education, which is an important social commitment and it shows the industry is concerned about the education of the children of its worker," she said.

    Other SUNRIPE-affiliated companies supporting the benefit are Pacific Collier Fresh Co., Immokalee, Fla.; Pacific Triple E Produce Corp., Tracy, Calif.; and Kaliroy Pacific, Nogales, Ariz.

    By Doug Ohlemeier, Staff Writer

    PALMETTO, Fla. -- Improvements made to a repacking operation will help Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd. send more SUNRIPE-branded tomatoes to supermarket shelves and restaurant tables.

    Pacific Tomato has bought ownership of a Mulberry tomato repacking operation it had co-owned with Nation Fresh, Springfield, Mo.

    Pacific Tomato and its sister company, Pacific Triple E Produce Corp., Tracy, Calif., and 10 other wholesaler-repackers in 2003 formed the Nation Fresh tomato marketer. The Mulberry operation -- called SUNRIPE Pre-Pak LLC -- was consummated in May.

    Pacific Tomato has been making improvements to the facility, south of Lakeland that in late June earned a superior rating from Scientific Certification Systems, Emeryville, Calif., said Bob Spence, Pacific Tomato's vice president of business development.

    "There has been a real revival of retailers interested in direct programs, particularly with romas due to the Hispanic population," Spence said. "It's really an exciting time to be in tomatoes. It's such a large and important category for retailers, a profitable one that's shown significant growth over the years. They're demanding more retail-ready products."

    SUNRIPE Pre-Pak operates out of a building that used to pack watermelons for Pacific Heartland Ltd., Lakeland, a former sister company that Pacific Tomato closed in 2004.

    While focusing on tomatoes, SUNRIPE Pre-Pak also will pack other vegetables such as bell peppers, cucumbers and squash sold under the SUNRIPE banner in different and special-sized packs, Spence said.

    SUNRIPE products are packed and marketed by Pacific Tomato, Pacific Triple E, SUNRIPE Pre-Pak, Pacific Collier Fresh Co., Immokalee, and Kaliroy Pacific, Nogales, Ariz.

    The Mulberry repacking operation allows for packing of a variety of tomato packs, cartons, sizes and configurations, Spence said.

    The grower-shipper also plans to sell more tomatoes to foodservice.

    "I don't think we've fully tapped into the foodservice side, the hotels and motels and Syscos," said Victor Uribe, Pacific Tomato's grape tomato production and Wimauma packinghouse manager. "That's still an open market that we can get into."

    Though 80% of Pacific Tomato's tomatoes are shipped bulk to repackers, Pacific Tomato has been packing limited retail special packs such as 4-count clamshell packs of round tomatoes and 6- and 8-count clamshells of romas.

    Sondria Reynolds, marketing manager, said Pacific Tomato wants to send more of its products into supermarkets.

    "We're aiming to get more into the retail side of the business," she said. "Though we will always have the bulk product because you have to, we're trying to push that retail issue more and provide more end-user product."

    Reynolds, who joined Pacific Tomato in March, succeeds William Gross, Pacific Tomato's longtime marketing coordinator who retired in late April. Reynolds, who has eight years produce industry experience, formerly worked with Ruskin Vegetable Corp., Ruskin, for four years as well as Chu Farms Inc., Wimauma. She also worked in the banking industry.

    Pacific Tomato was expected to finish packing its Quincy grape tomatoes July 7 at its Wimauma plant.

    Pacific Tomato was planning to shift its tomato production to Melfa, Va., on July 10. The Virginia tomatoes will run through mid-September before Pacific Tomato returns to Quincy Sept. 17 for grape tomatoes and Oct. 1 for romas, Uribe said. The company's fall tomato production starts in the Palmetto-Ruskin region in mid-October.

    Of the nearly 21 million equivalent boxes of tomatoes it plans to ship this year, Pacific Tomato expects to ship 17 million boxes or 81% of them from its Florida, Georgia and Virginia operations.

    Grape tomatoes, a growing category for Pacific Tomato, account for 5 million boxes.

    Spence said the success of Pacific Tomato's grape tomato program follows its use of different varieties that tend to produce sweeter tomatoes than other types of tomatoes.

    Pacific Tomato picks its grape tomatoes much later than others, almost as vine ripes, which allows the brix to fully mature, he said.

Pacific Tomato veteran steps down

 By Doug Ohlemeier, Staff Writer

    Retired Pacific Tomato marketing coordinator William Gross says he'd like to consult for a non-tomato company.

        PALMETTO, Fla. -- Though he's retired from the tomato giant he helped promote to national prominence, don't expect to find William Gross spending his golden years at a Florida golf course.

    The produce industry marketing veteran ended his 16 years of developing marketing campaigns and promotions for Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd. this spring after completing the company's most successful promotion -- the yearly SUNRIPE Golf Classic that benefits children of Pacific's migrant tomato pickers.

    Gross, 68 said he wants to do marketing work as a consultant for a non-tomato company. Unlike other produce marketing professionals who retire and open consulting businesses serving numerous companies, Gross -- who had only one other job before joining Pacific in 1990 -- said he doesn't want to work on his own in a typical consulting venture. He said he wants to work on projects with another large company.

    Gross said he decided to leave Pacific -- one of the companies that markets its tomatoes and vegetables under the SUNRIPE banner -- because he felt it was time to depart. Company co-owner Joe Esformes asked that he stay on, but Gross said he thought he had accomplished what he was brought on to do at Pacific.

    "It's becoming a different company now," Gross said. "It's a very large company being run with a CEO."

    Gross plans to rest a couple of months while scaling back his life. He's trying to sell his Bradenton home. Gross said he isn't sure if he will stay in Florida's Sun Coast area or move to California.

    "It's nice being retired, but you need to be doing something," he said. "It's important to keep yourself busy."

    *enerating buzz: Before Gross joined Pacific, the company relied on advertisements developed by trade publications and didn't have any marketing consistency.

    Esformes, whose family had been longtime friends of Gross, talked him into joining Pacific. In doing so, Gross brought marketing work he'd done at his family's printing business in Carlstadt, N.J.

    Esformes, Gross said, wanted him to provide Pacific a corporate identity that would help the company transform itself from looking like a mom-and-pop operation into a major player.

    Gross involved Pacific in trade organizations and worked with the Monterey, Calif.-based SenaReider advertising agency.

    During a drive from one of the Produce Marketing Association's foodservice shows in Monterey to Tracy, Calif., home of Pacific's sister company, Pacific Triple E Produce Corp., Gross and SenaReider president Lou Sena conceived the SUNRIPE Gazette, a spoof newspaper that featured advertisements of Pacific's products.

    While produce people read dull and uninteresting information throughout the day, the gazette would be passed around produce offices and would show Pacific as a not stodgy, lighthearted company that had a sense of humor, Gross said.

    The characters developed by the collaboration won advertising industry awards and, more importantly, produce industry label recognition.

    Trade show cooking demonstrations, which weren't common during the early 1990s, was another innovation Gross helped bring to Pacific.

    Gross convinced Pacific's co-owners, the Esformes and Heller families, to invest in lavish parties at PMA and United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association shows. Pacific's first, at the 1997 United convention in Orlando, generated many follow up inquiries.

    "I can't tell you how many people called afterwards asking where the party would be next year and if they could get invited," Gross said. "The party became a real keynote for us."

    Development of the SUNRIPE label in 1999 united the popular Heller, Miss Jill, Jackie and Bella Roma tomato labels. Gross said it took about three years for produce buyers to realize the SUNRIPE label was coming out of Pacific, Triple E and Lakeland–based Pacific Heartland. Pacific Collier Fresh Co., Immokalee, later began shipping its vegetables under the label. The move helped show the companies' largeness to buyers, Gross said.

    * Promotion with purpose: Over seven years, Pacific's golf fundraiser has brought $1 million in total tournament contributions. Instead of sponsoring a typical tournament where salesmen and their customers could socialize, Gross said Pacific wanted a hook that would help differentiate it from competitors.

    That angle came from within the company. It didn't require a migrant worker activist asking Pacific to start the charitable effort, Gross said.

    "That tournament is the most successful migrant scholarship program of its kind in the country," Gross said. "That is the one thing that I will always be able to look back on. It's something that had character and real purpose."

    Gross said he hears regularly from the scholarship's benefactors, the 1,500 young people who don't have to pick tomatoes but now work as teachers in some of Florida's migrant communities.

    After his father, Charles Gross, suffered a stroke, William Gross -- one of the Peace Corps' first workers -- left his Peace Corps agricultural work in Israel to help run the family printing business during the mid-1960s.

    Gross has bachelor's degrees in history and English literature from the University of Miami.

    His daughter, Jennifer Gross, runs the Los Angeles-area Evolutionary Media Group advertising agency.

    His son, Adam Gross, attends Florida State University, majoring in psychology.

Pacific Tomato Growers and Pacific Triple E Produce, a leading grower, shipper and marketer of quality field grown tomatoes,  announced the newest addition to their marketing team, Sondria R. Reynolds.  Ms. Reynolds has worked in the produce industry for the past 8 years.  Most recently Ms. Reynolds was with Ruskin Vegetable Corporation.  Ms. Reynolds will be working out of the Palmetto, Florida office, reporting to Bob Spence, VP of Business Development. As marketing manager she will be responsible for the marketing and business development of the SUNRIPE brand with retail and foodservice customers.

On May 1^st, 2006, Pacific Tomato Growers of Palmetto, Florida and Pacific Triple E Produce of Tracy, California announce the newest addition to their sales team, Todd A. Giardina.  Mr. Giardina has worked in sales and brokerage on both coasts for the past 10 years.  Most recently Mr. Giardina was with Bernardi and Associates, Inc.  Mr. Giardina will be working out of the Tracy, California offices, heading up year -round SUNRIPE sweet grape tomato program. 

Golf Charity underscores Floridians’ generosity

I’m not much of a golfer.  Miniature golf, when I last played it years ago, was more my forte.

But a tournament a major Florida tomato grower-shipper recently sponsored to help children of its migrant workers could prompt me to take up the sport.

In the societal and congressional debate over illegal immigration and the intensive media attention given the large worker rallies, it’s good when the produce industry receives some favorable notice for doing the right thing.

Even better is when the events aren’t cooked up in reaction to a hot-button issue.

Desire to help: Seven years ago, a group of Florida tomato and vegetable grower-shippers and their customers and friends wanted to provide $25,000.00 to help children of migrant workers attend college.  All told, they hoped they would raise $600,000.00 for the cause.

The SUNRIPE Golf Classic, in late April in Bradenton, Fla., sponsored by the SUNRIPE family of tomato and vegetable grower-shippers, broke the $1 million level in the cumulative donations tournament participants have given for scholarships.

Contributions support endowments at the Tampa, Fla.-based University of South Florida’s College of Education.  The Florida government matches the funds generated by the sold-out tournament by 50%.

Children of migrant farmworkers historically have been identified as one of the most educationally disadvantaged groups in the U.S., said Ann Cranston-Gringras, a professor of special education and director of the university’s center for migrant education.

Their drop-out rates are high, she said.

“They are still behind other groups in most measures of educational attainment,” she said.  “When you have a mobile lifestyle, with all the school changes, the cultural and linguistic barriers they face can lead to problems.”

Billy Heller, chief executive officer of benefit co-sponsor Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd., Palmetto, Fla., one of the companies that markets produce under the SUNRIPE banner, said the company’s owners and the industry as a whole recognizes the benefit helps fill a societal need.

Some of the first scholarship recipients have finished their studies and are teaching in their communities in places such as Immokalee, Fla.

“They are truly amazed and are thankful for the opportunities it affords them,” Heller said.  “We’re not just feeding and housing and providing a good, safe and whole-some work environment for our employees.  We’re affording the next generation of employees, should they choose to make the effort-a college education.”

Courtesy of “The Packer”

Staff Writer Doug Ohlemeier

LAURA FIGUEROA

Herald Staff Writer 

MANATEE - He wanted to write a tale about beetles in their natural element. His only obstacle: knowing how to spell all the words.

As Daniel, a first-grader at Rowlett Magnet Elementary School, wrote out his tale in his composition note book, he circled the words he had problems spelling.

"Sum bettles have difirind colors," the first-grader wrote.

"Sound it out," urged his teacher Martina Rico, soon guiding him in the enunciation. "Dif-fer-rent."

Daniel would be one of the many stops Rico made as she weaved around the desks of her students. They were practicing their writing skills for 30 minutes. If a student had problems spelling a word, they would circle it on their paper so Ms. Rico could help.

Rico, the daughter of migrant farmworkers from Mexico, feels fortunate to touch the lives of students at such a young age.

"I saw that there was a need for teachers," Rico said. "I saw it was more than just playing like many people think. These children really needed to have a good base for their education. There's no time for nap time."

And Rico got the opportunity to become that teacher when she received an academic scholarship from Pacific Tomato.

For seven years, Pacific Tomato has been raising thousands of dollars for the Sunripe Scholarship Fund. The company hopes next weekend's sold-out fundraiser takes the scholarship fund past the $1 million mark.

"What's great about this program is that they get to go to college," said Bob Spence, vice president of business development for Pacific Tomato. "They go into education, and when they come out to teach, many times they go back to teach in the same areas they grew up."

As they sat on a carpet, the 24 students in Rico's class all had their eyes and ears focused on their teacher, a 1993 graduate of Southeast High School. She was giving them instructions on their next assignment.

Ashley Gutierrez, 7, did as she was told and began writing down her list of vocabulary words in four columns.

"We love Ms. Rico like she loves us," Ashley said, fiddling with her eraser. "She helps us learn everything. Sometimes she gives us snacks."

After graduating from Southeast, Rico attended classes at Manatee Community College. Unsure of what she wanted to major in, she decided to volunteer at Daughtrey Elementary School.

"It let me see that this is what I want to do," Rico said.

With the aid of the scholarship, Rico was able to take classes in education at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.

Her brother Frank also received the scholarship. After getting his degree in education, he went on to earn his master's degree and is now in medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico.

Of the eight children her parents, Francisco and Lourdes Rico, had, all have graduated from high school, three are college graduates and three are currently in school.

That's a proud accomplishment for a family that spent their summers traveling throughout Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana picking crops like cucumbers and strawberries.

"It's hard work on your body," Rico said. "My dad didn't want us to miss out on the opportunity to get an education. He didn't want us to have to do the physically tiring work he did."

For that reason, Rico's father insisted on only traveling during the summers. During the school year, the family worked in Mission, Texas, and later Bradenton, allowing the children to remain in one school throughout the year.

Remaining settled in one place is not always possible for many migrant families, especially those who rely on "following the crop," said Ann Cranston-Gingras, who coordinates USF's migrant outreach programs for the College of Education.

"Migrant students in many bodies of literature have been called some of the most disadvantaged students," Cranston-Gingras said. "There are a lot of factors, one of them being that they move a lot. They work to help their families, their families work long hours.

"There are cultural and linguistic barriers that they face. It's pretty intense," she added. "If you can intervene at the school level with people who have absolute knowledge of their situations, then you have a really good chance of making a difference."

Though not all the students in Rico's class come from farmworking backgrounds, she already notices the difference her work has made in many of their lives.

At Rowlett, students begin learning Spanish in kindergarten, and Rico helps her students practice key words and phrases throughout the day. Looking toward her students, many of whom she has taught since kindergarten, she sees the progress they have made in their common struggles with spelling. One student barely knew how to hold a pencil to write when he started kindergarten. Today, he's scribbling words at the same pace as his peers.

"We have the best teacher," declares 6-year-old Jesus Betancourt.

Laura Figueroa, Herald reporter

PACIFIC TOMATO GROWERS, LTD announced the promotion of Billy L. Heller, Jr.  to the newly created position of Chief Executive Officer of Florida based Pacific Tomato Growers, Ltd. and California based Pacific Triple E. He joined the company in 2003 as the Chief Operating Officer where his focus was on implementing best practices in farm operations, food safety programs, establishing the SUNRIPE brand across the family of companies and consolidating the administrative functions.

PACIFIC TOMATO GROWERS, LTD is a leading grower, packer, shipper and marketer of field and hothouse grown tomatoes nationally marketed under the SUNRIPE brand.

“I am excited about the opportunities we have in front of us as a company and proud of the confidence the owners have in my abilities to lead our family of companies into the future.

We have built a strong management team that has made significant achievements in the areas of farming, packing operations, sales and the development of the SUNRIPE brand across the family of companies. I am particularly proud of the work that has been done in the implementation of best practices with our food safety programs and the work that has been done with the “S.A.F.E.” program, recognizing our social responsibility as an employer to our employees, vendors and customers.

We are well positioned to face the challenges inherent in the tomato industry. We have great products and great people. In running the day to day operations, our goal is to identify opportunities to provide value to our customers and their customers,” said Mr. Heller.

“This is a significant event for our company, the Esformes and Heller families. Mr. Heller is the first non-family member to take the helm in our 80 year history. This is a well earned promotion for Mr. Heller. He has demonstrated his ability to successfully manage our business and to provide strategic direction. He clearly shares our values and vision for the business. He is a great asset and we are excited about the future with Billy as our C.E.O.”, said shareholder Joseph Esformes.

Pacific Tomato Growers, Ltd. a leading grower, packer, shipper and marketer of the SUNRIPE brand of products announced the appointment of Carlos Torres, effective March 1^st, to the newly created position of Director of Compliance and Training for Food Safety/ Security and the SAFE certification program for all farm and packing operations.

Mr. Torres will be responsible for the ongoing development, implementation of standards and ensuring compliance for Food Safety/Security and “SAFE” certification programs across Pacific Tomato Growers, Pacific Triple E and Heller Brothers Packing.

“This new position demonstrates our continued commitment to being “best in class” in the areas of Food Safety/Security and recognizes the importance we place as a company on our social responsibility to our employees. Carlos has the knowledge, experience and skill set to build on our current model and take our programs to the next level across our family of companies. We are pleased to have Carlos on our team, said Billy Heller, Chief Executive Officer.

Sunripe's Migrant Scholarship featured in USF Magazine Fall/Winter 2004

For the full article, please click here.

The Produce News, September 12, 2003

Vine-ripe, greenhouse tomatoes added to ‘Sunripe’ label

By Rand Green
The Produce News
09/12/2003

Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd. in Palmetto, FL, and Kaliroy Produce Inc. in Nogales, AZ, have announced a joint venture under which a “complete line” of vine-ripe and greenhouse tomatoes will be introduced in Pacific Tomato’s “Sunripe” brand.

The new operating entity is called Kaliroy Pacific, and the line will consist of open-field vine-ripe tomatoes, greenhouse tomatoes, vine-ripe Romas and vine-ripe sweet grape tomatoes grown in Mexico.

Currently, Pacific Tomato Growers is involved in year-round production and marketing of mature-green tomatoes from Florida and California. The joint venture with Kaliroy will expand the offerings available in the “Sunripe” label, complementing Pacific Tomato’s mature greens with additional items in the tomato category.

Through the joint venture, “we will be able to offer greenhouse and vine-ripe tomatoes on a steady basis” for nine months out of the year, said Joe Esformes, managing partner of Pacific Tomato Growers. Shipments will begin in October and continue through June.

That still leaves “a few months in the summer we will not have Mexican production,” Mr. Esformes said. “But we are looking to expand our greenhouse presence and quickly arrive at a year-round supply of greenhouse tomatoes.”

Mr. Esformes said that he was very pleased to be partnering with Eduardo De La Vega, president of Kaliroy Produce. “Eduardo and I have been friends for years,” he said. “So have our families. We’re both family business and share the same values. And we both have a passion for the tomato business.”

Pacific Tomato has not been involved with a Mexican tomato deal for 14 or 15 years, he said. But “we’ve been looking at the greenhouse and vine-ripe industry for several years, and the De La Vega operations near Guadalajara and Culiacan [Mexico] are state of the art.”

Mr. De La Vega’s company has been growing vine-ripe tomatoes in Mexico for over 20 years. “We feel very strongly that with the De La Vega family’s production experience in Mexico and our marketing, that is a really good match-up, and we look for a long-term relationship,” Mr. Esformes said.

The joint press release issued Sept. 9 quoted Mr. De La Vega as saying, “Joe and I share similar views on the growth and trends of the fresh tomato industry. Retailers need a consistent, year-round source of premium vine-ripe tomatoes, and that’s what we’ll provide. I’m excited to be working with one of the best marketers of fresh produce in America.” Pacific Tomato Growers “knows what they are doing,” he said. “Sunripe is going to be hard to beat.”

Tom Gilardi, who was previously at Del Camp Supreme, is director of sales and marketing for the new Kaliroy Pacific entity. “Tom has extensive experience in both the Florida and Nogales deals, along with greenhouse marketing, and will bring great depth to our marketing team,” said Mr. Esformes.

Sales will be handled out of Kaliroy’s Nogales office. Projected production for the first year is 6 million cartons.

FORM IMMEDIATE RELEASE Growers

Contacts: William Gross Pacific Tomato (941) 722-3291

Growers, September 10, 2003

Billy Heller Appointed COO for Pacific Tomato Growers