FAISON, NC — Nature’s Way Farms began as a brokerage company in 1979. Murray and Ann Crawford initially operated out of their home here, but the company, which now involves about 100 employees, has expanded several times into packaging and shipping operations — and it is about to expand again. Murray G. Crawford, owner and chief executive officer, told The Produce News that the company will begin construction on a new $2 million facility in late January. He hopes to have it completed and operating by mid-July 2015.

“Business is good, real good, and we’re ready to expand,” Crawford said.Murray G. Crawford The new facility will be located next to the current facility and contain an additional 15,000 square feet of packing space and 29,500 square feet of sweet potato storage space and employ an additional 20 to 25 people, he added. “The new packing facility will have state-of-the-art equipment for sizing and grading, which will ensure customers of more accurate counts and grading techniques than can be offered by many other modern facilities.”

This technology will be of great benefit to foodservice customers as well as retailers who demand consistent counts and increased quality standards, Crawford added. “With the new building, we will have a total of 135,000 square feet of refrigerated storage space,” he added. “That’s 300 tractor-trailer loads under refrigeration,” he concluded.

Originally established as Murray G. Crawford Produce Co., the company merged into Nature’s Way Farms and expanded into vegetable packing and logistics services. “This merger made Nature’s Way Farms a fully integrated company — grower, packer, shipper and sales,” Crawford said. It has its own brand of Honey Drop and Nature’s Way sweet potatoes, sold in bulk, cartons, and microwavable singles, bags and tray packs.

The best-selling product for Nature’s Way is russet potatoes, Crawford noted, sold in bags, cartons, tray packs and microwavable singles. It also packs red, white, Yukon Gold and fingerling potatoes, as well as onions, cabbage, turnip roots, beets, peppers and squash. Additionally, the company sells a full line of tropical fruits year-round, as well as all melons and carrots. Sweet potatoes are locally grown, but other products are sourced from Colorado, Florida, Washington and other states as well as Canada and Mexico.

Nature’s Way customers include several North Carolina supermarket chains, one dating back well over 20 years. “We pack private label brand potatoes for several chains, many of them out of state,” Crawford said. “We also pack private label for many foodservice companies, some in state and many out of state.”

Crawford’s son, Mark A. Crawford, is president of the family-run company. The Crawfords say they have been ahead of the curve with food-safety standards. They began employing full-time food-safety team members well before it was a required standard and feel their food-safety team plays a huge role in their success at Nature’s Way Farms. Both father and son have this maxim on the back of their business cards: “You will like potatoes and onions better when you buy better potatoes and onions.”