Jeff Danner, general manager of Eastern Propak LLC in Glassboro, NJ, told The Produce News that the company is one of premier repackers in the tri-state area today. The company handles domestic and a long and growing list of imported fruits and vegetables.

“Our growth in the past five to six years has been nothing short of dramatic,” said Danner. “As a result, we have made multiple expansions to our facility to accommodate the additional business.”

He noted its growth is due to the increase in demand for the services the company offers.

“We constantly demonstrate extremely good quality and consistency, and success breeds success,” Danner added. “Today our client base includes some of the largest players in the industry.”

Jeff Danner, general manager of Eastern Propak.The Eastern Propak facility is a little over 100,000 square feet. Last year it expanded one repacking room by 4,000 square feet, and every room is temperature controlled.

“I came from a background of fresh-cut and temperature control is paramount,” Danner explained. “It is also paramount in repacking. We repack at the temperature the product is stored. Our labor crews have to dress appropriately, but it’s imperative to ensure the best shelf life.”

In mid-August, the company was repacking apples from Chile in rooms that were set at between 33 and 35 degrees. Danner said lower temperatures put product to sleep, which results in longer shelf life.

“We recently wrapped up apples from New Zealand,” said Danner. “And we’re doing large volumes of citrus from South Africa and Peru, which will run for a few more months. Mangos from Brazil just started, which is our next major crop. And we are still doing a huge volume of domestic peaches.”

The company also handles citrus from other countries in the Southern Hemisphere. On the heels of Brazilian mangos will be Brazilian grapes, followed closely by Italian kiwi, apples and citrus, which begins in early October and runs through May.

“At the same time we’re dealing with Italy, grapes from Peru begin moving,” Danner added. “That brings us into November and December, and is when Chile starts strongly with its programs, which typically begins with cherries and early grapes.

“Following citrus from Peru and South Africa, we’ll transition into Northern Hemisphere citrus from Spain, Morocco and Israel,” he added.

Chilean movement gets heavier as it moves into January, and Danner said the Chilean grape program, which runs at least through May, is of “monstrous volumes.”

“Apples start rolling from the Southern Hemisphere in June,” Danner said. “Then we’re back into our domestic program. Domestic peaches and nectarines started on July 4 this year, which is a little later than the normal start of late June. The peach deal will run into mid-September this year, and I cannot emphasize enough how excellent these late peaches are.”

Eastern Propak works with three New Jersey growers who cooperatively own the company — Summit City Farms in Glassboro (its largest supplier), Heilig Orchards in Richwood, and Gala Orchards in Elmer. The growers produce white and yellow peaches and nectarines. Eastern Propak packs the peaches, and Sunny Valley International, also headquartered in Glassboro, does the marketing. Besides growers’ labels, the company uses the “Jersey Fruit” label, which is the official label of the state’s locally grown “Jersey Fresh” initiative.

The company, founded nearly 20 years ago, also offers year-round cold storage. Danner is a highly seasoned produce professional with over 40 years of experience in the industry. His son, Steven Danner, operations manager, has also worked at Eastern Propak for the past few years, and he’s learning all about his father’s strong work ethics.

“It’s all about doing the right thing and at the right time,” he said. “I like to train all of my employees by example; I’m the first one in the office in the morning and I work on all levels — if it needs to be done, I’m in there doing it. When you set examples like this, the crew that works for you is inspired to follow your lead.”

On the note of a crew, Danner said that the labor issue is really a gigantic problem for the entire domestic produce industry today, and he fears the result of what will happen if something isn’t done to remedy it quickly.

“Labor becomes a bigger and bigger challenge every year,” he stressed. “The blueberry industry was absolutely hammered with labor problems this year, and everyone is suffering on some level. Something has to be done or we’re not going to be growing food in our country in the future.”