Zach Gillespie joined the staff of Mountain Valley Logistics at the beginning of 2012 as a truck broker. “Mountain Valley welcomed him with open arms, and we’re rocking,” Transportation Manager Kurt Holland told The Produce News Jan. 13. “He is very enthusiastic about his work and clients. He’s a very professional young man.”

Gourmet’s Finest has two convenient locations that allow it to quickly ship its high-quality mushrooms to many major cities. Its headquarters is in Avondale, PA, in the middle of the United States’ mushroom heartland, and it has a 10,000-square-foot distribution center in Detroit.

Jeremy Olesky is the on-site general manager of Gourmet’s Finest Detroit facility. He told The Produce News that the company opened the Detroit facility three years ago.

“Technology is at the forefront of our business every day,” said Nate Stone, chief operating officer for Ben B. Schwartz & Sons Inc., in Detroit. “A couple of short decades ago we didn’t think it was very important, but today we know that it’s many times more important than we can even imagine. Everything operates with technology today, but we also believe that it’s still a ‘hands-on’ business, and we demonstrate that by continuing to provide the best personal service possible.”

“I speak for the entire industry when I say that there is a tremendous cooperative spirit that exists between the produce terminal merchants and the retailers in Detroit,” said Jeff Abrash, president and owner of Andrews Bros. Inc., located at the Detroit Produce Terminal. “Retailers work very hard at merchandising and selling more produce, and they count on us to source the right products. Without their energy and ability, we would not be as strong as we are, and the same is true in reverse.”

Mike Badalament, sales associate for R.A.M. Produce Distributors LLC, located at the Detroit Terminal Market, told The Produce News that the company’s expertise is predominantly in tomatoes.

“We also handle peppers, zucchini and other vegetables,” said Mr. Badalament. “We also have a strawberry deal and a kiwifruit program, and we handle some Hispanic items.”

Dominic Russo, buyer and sales associate for Rocky Produce Inc., located on the Detroit Produce Terminal, told The Produce News that the company is heavily into imported product during the first part of the year.

“A lot of our products come in from South America and Mexico this time of year,” said Mr. Russo. “We also have some kiwifruit still coming in from Italy. We go anywhere we have to in order to get our hands on what our customers need.”