CHICAGO — “The last nine months have been very good,” Robert (Rob) Strube III said of Strube Celery & Vegetable Co., based here.

It was last summer that Strube and other fourth-generation members of the Strube family established a new business plan. Rob Strube, one of four directors of the company, became the firm’s new president. The other three directors are Rob’s cousin TJ Fleming, the new director of sales and marketing; Lisa Strube, the director of finance and administration and a longtime employee; and Sue Hunter, who heads Strube’s human resources.

These changes were driven by the May 1, 2013, death of Jan Fleming, a Strube company co-owner, who was critical to the firm’s management. Ms. Fleming was the mother of TJ Fleming and the daughter of the late industry icon Robert (Bob) Strube Sr.

After the changes last summer “we had a nice profitable six months, Rob Strube said.” Then, devastating weather that struck the northern and eastern United States also froze Chicago. The Strube company suffered slow sales alongside its industry brethren. “The weather killed us,” he said. “But, it turned around in March. We are looking to improve this year.”

The change brought “a new logo and a new look” to Strube. The firm hasn’t technically changed its name but it has streamlined by using “Strube” for its operating name.

With the new organizational chart came a strategic management process to bring employees under greater discipline to meet specific goals. The Strube sales team has goals for packages and sales.

“We are fighting every day,” to be profitable, Strube indicated.

Last year was the centennial year for Strube. “The leadership team is working to keep us in business for another 100 years.”

Rob Strube said, “I have a good feeling about what Strube is doing now. It’s hard to get people to think about what they’re doing and put in a little different thought process. Accountability is the biggest thing.”

He said consolidation is predicted for the industry, and “we want people to consolidate with us” in the future.”

Strube’s brother, John Strube, at age 44 is the youngest member on the sales desk and he has been in the produce business for 20 years.

Rob Strube said he worked on the sales floor for 25 years before he became the president. “It’s weird to be off the floor,” but he added that he does put in some sales time in the morning in order to be posted on the business.

One changing aspect of the Strube business is that “we’re bringing back products that weren’t profitable” in the past. “We got away from the full line on the old market. We had the most space” on the South Water Market “and we had a lot of product.” Rob Strube’s grandfather spent decades leading the Chicago produce industry to the modern facility of the Chicago International Produce Market. “We brought everyone to our playing field” with the new market. “A lot of guys here have different products. We lost our edge. We’re trying to get our edge back.”

TJ Fleming said Strube is considering a move into nuts and expansion of both its fruit and vegetable lines. “There is a fine line between a rut and a groove. But we plan to mix it up with different items and think outside the box.”

Fleming noted, “There is plenty of business in Chicago and bordering states. There are customers in the city. My brother (Chris Fleming) is in charge of business development and outside sales. He works with current customer relationships and potential customers.” Strube’s customers range from Illinois to Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan.

“I am really excited about the summer,” TJ Fleming said. “We have really good support from local growers. We always have a strong local produce deal. I still have shippers in Ohio and Indiana that did business with my grandfather back in the day.”

TJ Fleming said Strube has added the service of cross-docking on the market for one of its Wisconsin customers. The cross-docking is led by Fleming’s brother-in-law, Jason Trott.

Fleming said his sales staff includes John Strube, Mike Carioscia, John DeFronzo, John O’Rourke, Louis Christopher, Nick Chiusolo and Roberto Celio. John Strube handles wet vegetables, and O’Rourke and Chiusolo handle 90 percent of Strube’s fruit. “I like being here in the mix. I do dry veg: peppers, cukes, zucchini, beans and cabbage through the whole year.” He works with Nogales shippers in the winter and various domestic deals otherwise.

“We fight the fight every day,” Fleming said. “We hustle.”

As The Produce News called on the firm, it was undergoing a food-safety audit by Primus inspectors.

“We try to be well above industry food-safety standards,” Rob Strube said. Noting the cleanliness of the Strube facility, he said, “We get compliments from shippers and new customers. They are amazed at how well we keep the building.”

Anticipating a Primus food-safety certification, TJ Fleming said his firm would be the second on the market to have that certification.