RIO RICO, AZ – Tricar Sales has undergone some changes in the past year, but what remains at the heart of the operation is its commitment to customer service.

One of the recent changes at the company is the promotion of Kyle McGrath to director of sales and marketing. He replaces Rod Sbragia, who left the company recently to become vice president of sales and marketing at Crown Jewels Marketing.

McGrath, who assumed his new role on July 1, has actually worked at Tricar for 12 years, having first joined in November 2010 handling national sales. He worked under Sbragia for nearly his entire tenure, and said it was a great opportunity to train under an industry veteran. “I learned a tremendous amount working under Rod,” he said.

Prior to joining Tricar, McGrath was in consumer lending at Wells Fargo Bank. “I joined Tricar on the recommendation of my brother-in-law, who worked here,” he said. “It was a drastic change from what I had been doing, but I love it!

There is an entrepreneurial spirit in produce, and there are many challenges, but I find it to be very rewarding.”

McGrath said Tricar is running a bit leaner with four people on the sales desk, down from eight.

“We’re transitioning a bit as a company, but we’re actually improving our efficiency by leaning more on the technology side,” he said. “We’re a 76-year-old company that is reinventing itself and looking to improve where we can.”

Asked what helps Tricar stand out from other produce distributors in the area, McGrath said the company looks to differentiate itself by providing a high level of customer service.

Regarding the season at hand, McGrath said Tricar would be offering its main items, including green Bell peppers, colored Bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, eggplant and cucumbers. Recent rains and Hurricane Roslyn that hit Mexico’s

Pacific coast pushed the start of various items back by two to three weeks, but he doesn’t see any major disruptions that will linger into the season.

“We’re seeing a lot of demand on tomatoes now,” he said in early November. “Usually, we’ll start getting calls on them in mid-December, but that has started much earlier this year.”

He said Tricar had a “phenomenal” year with eggplant last year, working with an outstanding grower on that item. Production from that grower will be up by 30 percent this year.

Persian cucumbers are a new item for Tricar this year, said McGrath, and the company will start on a relatively small scale with 200,000-225,000 packages.

Tricar tends to sell a lot of its product on the open market, contracting only when it can confidently fulfill an order. “We want to be able to do what we promise,” he said. “That is where the emphasis on service comes into play.”

Photo: Kyle McGrath, director of sales and marketing