John Vena, president of John Vena Inc., located at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, told The Produce News that the company has had a significant increase in its staff in the last 12 months.

“We have expanded our staff by close to 20 percent,” said Vena. “Most jobs we added were at entry level, but two new members of our team are in newly created roles.

“James Collins joined us last summer as our packing room manager,” Vena continued. “His background is in bakery production, and he has brought a lot of experience to our team.”

Garlic chives are a spring delight from John Vena Inc.Emily Kohlhas joined the John Vena staff last March in the newly created sales and marketing coordinator position. Kohlhas comes from the local food scene and is, Vena noted, “well grounded in the kind of marketing techniques we want to use.”

John Vena was among the first companies to take occupancy in the PWPM when it opened in June 2011. It is a full -line house that has been family owned and operated since 1919.

The company deals in high-end specialty items including fresh herbs, greenhouse vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, tropical fruits and baby vegetables. Its mission is to provide its customers with the highest quality products and service available. And it considers those companies that supply it to be customers as well.

Vena said that depending on the time of year, the company easily runs from 65 to 80 percent imported produce.

“Our business for imported products seems to grow annually,” he said. “Of course we lean heavily on Canada and Mexico, all of Central and South America, Spain, Italy, Holland and Belgium.  Recently we have begun to increase our deals strongly from Thailand, Vietnam and China.”

Vena has remained bullish on the new PWPM since the day the company moved into its space there. Vena said the best thing about the market is the opportunity it has afforded the company.

“This facility has made our job so much easier and given us a great foundation from which to build our business,” he said. “We have of all the space we need to do all of the things that make up our business, and we do it in a temperature controlled building.  Our new market has really changed the story that we tell our customers, and it has changed the way we think about our business.  With a facility like this, there isn’t anything we’re afraid to try or to offer.”

John Vena is also proud to have been the first company in the Philadelphia Market to be certified by first, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and then by PrimusLabs.com, in good handling practices.

“We have set some very aggressive revenue goals for the coming three years,” said Vena. “One of our strategies to achieve those goals is to put more aggressive people on staff.  There seems to be a lot more interest among job seekers in the kind of work we do. I want to take advantage of that trend.”