The 2015 acquisition of H.C. Schmieding Produce Co. in Springdale, AR, and Cañon Potato LLC in Center, CO, by Palm Beach, FL-based Woerner Holdings Inc. brought together two well-established potato-shipping facilities and now provides year-round supplies from those operations.

Woerner Holdings, headed by father-son team Lester and Trent Woerner, created the umbrella “New Schmieding Produce,” and the upshot of the acquisition is increased availability of direct-from-growers potatoes as well as carrots, watermelons, pumpkins and other produce items.

Schmieding was purchased in April 2015, followed by the Cañon acquisition later that summer. Cañon, which had been in operation for six decades, was closed in 2013.

At the time of Cañon’s purchase, Lester Woerner said, “Colorado has a long history of growing, packaging and shipping some of the finest quality potatoes in the nation and we look to continue to expand our operations in the San Luis Valley.”

Darren White and Cameron Oliver, two San Luis Valley potato veterans, work the sales desks at Cañon Potato LLC in Center, CO.Leading Cañon’s on-site staff is Darren White, general manager, sales, and a native of the San Luis Valley who came into the potato industry in 1990. White and salesman Cameron Oliver, also born and raised in the valley and a longtime potato sales agent, work with the transportation team of Trish Floriani and Neal Valdez and with administrator Shawnery Bounds.

Though the team is only “one-third into the first season” of the re-established packing facility, White said, “we are blessed to have a solid customer base, and we feel as though our work and the reputations we’ve established over the years have helped solidify this operation. We have a good, diverse base of retail, foodservice and institutions across the United States, and we are also doing a lot of exports to Mexico.”

Cañon ships russets, reds and yellows as well as value-added microwaveable spuds, organics and specialties.

“We work with growers to provide the full slate of potato products,” he said. White said the growers number more than two dozen, from seed to fresh to bulk. The spuds are shipped throughout the year from the Cañon shed.

“For 2016 we plan to carry on with the good reputation that Cañon has had since the late 1950s, and we are upgrading the shed and adding new equipment.”

New to the shed is a Hagan carton machine, and bagging equipment allows for a range of consumer packs, from three- to 20-pound poly bags. Also available are 50-pound paper and cartons and 2,000-pound totes.

White and Oliver work closely with the sales team in Springdale, White said, and the two offices have forged a strong relationship.

“Over the years we’ve benefited from our experience, and we appreciate the people we’ve worked with here in the Valley,” White said. “We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best in the potato industry, and we hope to reflect that as we move into the future.”