J.T. Guida, president of Pexco Produce Sales in Pompano Beach, FL, said the company has held onto its superior rating of 98 percent from PrimusLabs since its first rating several years ago.

“We are now getting superior ratings from the more intensive Primus program; Primus GFS,” Guida told The Produce News. “This rating is geared toward packinghouses and consolidation facilities, and many chain retailers are requiring it today.”

The company’s value-added program, which it started a few years ago, continues to gain in popularity with its customers.

Lily Chicon, Michael Yates, J.T. Guida and Michael Stanley of Pexco Produce Sales Inc.“We pack okra into one-pound clamshells with our ‘Pexco’ label on the package,” said Guida. “We also pack two-pound mixed colored peppers. These have been highly successful for us.

“In the past year we added a solid green pepper two-pound bag to the program, and we are in the process now of adding a 12-ounce bag of okra,” he continued.

Guida noted that this year’s Florida strawberry season has not been particularly good because of extreme weather, including heat in parts of Florida.

“Our warm weather brought products on early, but we could not move them north because of the storms in the north,” he explained. “We are looking forward to a good spring. We will start moving the next crop toward the first of April.”

Pexco is a fully integrated company. It procures, grows, markets, consolidates and provides full-service logistics. It also consolidates for major retail chain stores and purveyors.

“No order is too big or too small for us,” said Guida. “Our consolidation and distribution facility in Moultrie, GA, continues to expand to include more growers. We have operated this facility for several years with great success. It runs our vegetable line during June and July, and then again in September, October and part of November.”

Pexco is relatively dormant during July, August and September, but its Plant City facility, which is managed by Andy Schaibly, is open all year to accommodate local Florida customers. The operation there handles strawberries and Florida vegetables.

“Mike Peace is the Plant City director of sales,” said Guida. “We represent a couple of strawberry farms in both the Plant City and Ruskin areas for seasonal supplies of strawberries.”

Michael Stanley is the operations manager of Pexco’s Pompano facility. Michael Yates is now the company’s director of sales. Clinton Stanley, Mike Stanley’s nephew, oversees quality control for the firm. Bill Nangle is the company’s food safety director. He joined the staff three years ago.

Pexco expanded its pre-cooling operation in Plant City to about 30,000 square feet during the past several years. It also installed a new holding cooler. The unit is used to accommodate the increasing demand from chain retailers.

The company follows the seasons northward from south Florida in the winter and then on to central and north Florida in the spring and early summer before transitioning to Georgia.

“We start shipping out of the southern areas on approximately April 15, and we ship all the way through to July 4,” said Guida. “We are concentrating on expanding our year-round movement out of Plant City. And we are handling some short loads.”

“We are always looking for new high-quality products to add to our line, and we continue to expand with new customers who want to utilize our consolidation services,” said Guida. “Our customer base is 70 percent chain stores and purveyors, and about 30 percent wholesalers. We are expanding on our entire line, which is a continual evolution at Pexco.”