Wespak Sales has merged its sales and marketing activities with Rivermaid Trading Co., according to a joint statement released Oct. 17. The merger follows a 10-year working relationship between the two entities that began with fresh cherries and will now grow significantly to include other products.

Rivermaid Trading Co., based in Lodi, CA, is a leading marketer of fresh California pears and a major player in fresh California cherries, with strong domestic sales experience. Similarly, Dinuba, CA-based Wespak Sales has a long, successful history of sales in the stone fruit category along with a growing presence in apricots, grapes, pomegranates and cherries.

"We believe Wespak 's leadership in the international marketplace will perfectly complement Rivermaid's strength in domestic sales," Patrick Archibeque, chief executive officer of Rivermaid Trading Co., said in a press release. "The merger will expand both companies' product offerings, and give buyers a single trusted source to simplify their buying practices."

Blair Richardson, CEO of Wespak Sales, added in the press release, "By combining our global expertise with Rivermaid's proven domestic leadership, the strength and capabilities of both companies will be greatly enhanced. It's definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts - and those parts were considerable to begin with."

Ken Carter, chief marketing officer of Rivermaid, said in the press release that the idea to merge the two companies began over three years ago.

"The principals of Enns Packing and Wespak Sales had entered into a strategic planning process with an independent third-party group, and determined that a generation gap existed that needed to be filled," Mr. Carter said. "As a result, Blair Richardson was brought into the business as a non-family CEO to lead the companies through this process."

Mr. Richardson's efforts resulted in numerous internal changes and ultimately led to an offering of ownership to key employees in the fall of 2011.

At that time, the board of directors of Enns Packing approached Rivermaid, as the principals had enjoyed a long-standing, positive relationship both personally and professionally. Rivermaid recognized the benefits of a potential merger and moved forward with discussions that eventually led to this announcement.

Rivermaid Trading Co. and Wespak Sales will continue to operate as separate entities under mutual leadership, ownership and marketing strategies. Sales representatives from Rivermaid and Wespak will work together to sell both companies' products with an emphasis on enhancing value to customers and returning a greater profit to the farm. Ultimately, sales will be consolidated.

"The California cherry industry is changing, with South Valley volume becoming more and more significant," Mr. Archibeque said in the press release. "With Wespak's location in Kingsburg, the two companies now have growing and packing operations strategically located in the center of each key growing area."

"The merger makes our organizations a $100 million operation, enabling us to serve retailers in ways we couldn't as individual companies," Mr. Richardson added in the press release. "We're looking forward to getting customer feedback as this new chapter in our story unfolds."