John Vena Inc. holds five units, F-1 through F-5, at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market. The company took occupancy when the new facility opened in June, 2011.

John Vena, company president, said the firm is a specialty produce wholesaler offering local, domestic and imported products.

With close to a year under its belt at the new and highly advanced Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, Pinto Bros. Inc. is reporting a highly positive experience. The company moved to PWPM when it opened in June 2011 and occupies units G-7 through G-9 in the blue section of the market.

Todd Penza, sales representative for the firm, told The Produce News that the company was able to gain more overall space.

Last October, Caruso Logistics opened a new facility in Jacksonville, FL.

“We operate a dedicated tractor-trailer fleet for a customer of ours, and business is progressing nicely,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Busch told The Produce News on April 19. “Our plan is to layer on other services including our customized Direct Store Delivery trucking program to greater diversify that operation.”

DALLAS — According to multiple anonymous sources, a proposal to merge the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association into a single entity, most likely called United Fresh Produce Marketing Association, has been presented to board representatives of both associations and will be voted upon by those entities on June 4.

John Shuman of Shuman Produce Inc. in Reidsville, GA, knows he has a lot to be thankful for. For one thing, the company is in the middle of another successful Vidalia onion season. For another, the Produce For Kids organization he founded to benefit Children’s Miracle Network hospitals and PBS Kids is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month and readying for a step up to the next level.

Thinking outside the box can mean different things to different people. To Atlanta distributor General Produce Inc., it means thinking outside the country.

After a half-century as the Southeast’s premium independent supplier, delivering to 11 states overnight, the company has set its sights even further south with a program partnering with local grocers to open modern supermarkets in the Caribbean islands.