The family-owned Kingston Fresh has deep roots in agriculture, dating back to the 1970s when Dave Kingston, chief executive officer, transformed the former Hurley Produce into a budding success in the produce industry.

Having been pioneers in the potato and onion industry for decades, beginning in 2000 the company began making serious inroads to diversify its product portfolio and menu of services. Today, the menu at Kingston Fresh ranges from the traditional potato and onion programs to both domestic and international offerings of grapes, citrus, mango, melons, pineapple and other fresh produce items to meet its customer needs.Ken Nabal

Kingston hired Ken Nabal as president in the summer of 2011 to oversee the company’s aggressive growth plans and vertical integration of its services. Since that time, the company has taken important steps in bridging its global operation of domestic and international farmer partnerships to become a year-round supplier of quality, fresh products.

Today, Kingston continues expanding its programs, customer base and offices around the country.

Of the company’s expansion and new programs rolling out in 2013, Nabal said, “When folks think of Kingston, they naturally associate us with domestic production of potatoes and onions. We are extremely proud of this history and both programs continue to be an integral aspect of our business. However, we are working hard to expand this mindset by providing our customers with additional value-added programs at the same customer service levels they expect at Kingston. Whether it’s our established Sugar Pine pineapple program, melons, citrus, grapes, or our progressive winter mango programs from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala, our imports represent a fast-growing segment of our business.”

Late last year, Kingston entered into partnerships to begin importing Chilean grapes and citrus. After a successful grape campaign this past winter and spring, up next is the arrival of Chilean clementines, Navels and lemons, which will ship throughout the summer.

“In addition, we will have a growing presence in Arizona, California, Georgia and Mississippi with cantaloupes, honeydew and watermelons,” said Nabal. “It’s going to be a fun and busy summer at Kingston, and we are excited to get started.”

“Our strong ‘boots on the ground’ presence in the countries we operate gives Kingston a distinct advantage as it relates to monitoring overall quality,” said Kingston, company CEO. “Between our team of professionals along with our strong leadership in place, I am very excited for the future. The key with any growth is to maintain strict focus on our mission statement at Kingston — a relentless commitment to customer service, quality and food safety.”