Jimmy Coppola, account and marketing manager for Westmoreland Sales, a leading grower, shipper and marketer of high-quality greenhouse produce headquartered in Leamington, ON, told The Produce News that the company is looking forward to featuring a couple of new items at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show in Vancouver, BC, on April 2-4.

“One of our new items is the ‘TopLine Creations’ line,” said Coppola. “This is a line of packaged greenhouse produce with the inclusion of olive oil packets. It’s perfect for salad lovers on the go, or just to add that little extra bit to make for an unforgettable snack.”

Westmoreland will be at Booth No. 103 at the CPMA event this year. On hand to greet customers and potentially new customers from the company will be Lisa Sirizzotti, account manager, Ken Green, president, and Dino DiLaudo, account manager/sales manager.

Coppola explained that the company finds that it gets to see a wide range of customers at the event every year.

“Attendees to the CPMA expo include retailers, wholesalers and foodservice representative alike,” he said. “This group of select customer representatives is what makes these shows worthwhile for Westmoreland Sales. We do notice that there are also those in attendance from other areas, such as Mexico, Central America and Europe, just to name a few.”

Comparing the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit and the CPMA/ ACDFL events each year, Coppola said that the company feels that both shows are equal in the opportunities that they offer.

“The CPMA event does, of course, give us more of an opportunity to showcase to our Canadian customers as it is located within Canada,” he said.

“But at the same time most of those who attend CPMA also attend PMA. It is, however, always nice to see customers from both sides of the border on our own Canadian soil,” he added.

Westmoreland Sales, which is also known as TopLine Farms, grows and distributes a full range of high-quality greenhouse produce. Its line includes tomatoes on the vine and beefsteak tomatoes, as well as specialty tomatoes such as Roma tomatoes on the vine and grape tomatoes on the vine. It also handles seedless and mini cucumbers, bell peppers and eggplants.

Coppola said that Westmoreland is always working on its green initiative.

“Our goal is to always lessen our carbon footprint, be it through our packaging and use of recyclable materials or upgrades to our facilities, such as LED lighting and researching solar and wind power,” he said. “We are always looking for new packaging and other new ideas. We welcome everyone who attends the CMPA expo to come to our booth to discuss the many programs and projects we’re involved in because there is something for everyone.”