Wilson family splits from Wilson-Batiz, forms Wilson Produce
Wilson family splits from Wilson-Batiz, forms Wilson Produce
Wilson-Batiz LLC in Nogales, AZ, and sister company Wilson-Batiz of California in San Diego came into being in 1999 as a result of the merger of the James K. Wilson Produce Co. in Nogales, AZ, with the Batiz family, which had been formerly involved in R.B. Packing and various other agricultural enterprises in Mexico.
The families have now separated their operations into two entities: Wilson Produce in Nogales and Royal Flavor in San Diego.
"Our partnership was good for a long time," said Alicia Bon Martin, who is a member of the Wilson family and who was one of the owners of Wilson-Batiz. But "times have changed, and our family just felt it was time to really come home and find our core. And our core, really, has been the family business."
The Wilson family has been involved in shipping produce to the United States since 1937.
For most of the last eight years, the partnership with the Batiz family worked well, "but our vision changed," Ms. Martin said. "We found ourselves going in different directions, and deep down we knew it was time to kiss each other goodbye and say, 'We wish you well, we wish ourselves well, and,' as you say in Spanish, 'Vaya con Dios.'"
It is time "to refocus, re-energize and move forward," she added.
The sales team in Nogales remains the same as it was at Wilson-Batiz LLC, with Kiki Arana, David Lundstrom and Eric Meyer on the sales desk, she said. The general manager is Brian Petho, and the chief financial officer "and our new CEO is my husband, Chris Martin. My brother, Benjamin Bon, and myself are really working more on the farming operation side."
The company's farming and packing operations in Mexico are located near Guasave in the state of Sinaloa, about 90 miles north of Culiacan.
"We are really excited about this year because we have a really strong grower base that is coming in with us," Ms. Martin said. "We are going to have a full line of vegetable items," including "a very strong program on mini-sweet peppers."
Open-field products will consist of Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, Italian squash, yellow squash, mixed hot peppers, eggplant, Chinese vegetables, pickles and cucumbers.
The company will also have hothouse products consisting of European cucumbers, mini-sweet peppers, colored bell peppers, cluster tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and Persian cucumbers.
"We are opening up some new areas for organic, with organic string beans, organic cherry tomatoes and organic grape tomatoes," Ms. Martin added. It will be the Wilson family's first entrance into organics "on our own farms," she said. "One of our growers was already in the organic program last year, and he will continue. He will have a beefsteak [tomato] program."
Overall, "we are going to have a really strong product line this year," she said. The company's top label will be "Wilson's," and "Diamond J" will be the second label, she said.
The families have now separated their operations into two entities: Wilson Produce in Nogales and Royal Flavor in San Diego.
"Our partnership was good for a long time," said Alicia Bon Martin, who is a member of the Wilson family and who was one of the owners of Wilson-Batiz. But "times have changed, and our family just felt it was time to really come home and find our core. And our core, really, has been the family business."
The Wilson family has been involved in shipping produce to the United States since 1937.
For most of the last eight years, the partnership with the Batiz family worked well, "but our vision changed," Ms. Martin said. "We found ourselves going in different directions, and deep down we knew it was time to kiss each other goodbye and say, 'We wish you well, we wish ourselves well, and,' as you say in Spanish, 'Vaya con Dios.'"
It is time "to refocus, re-energize and move forward," she added.
The sales team in Nogales remains the same as it was at Wilson-Batiz LLC, with Kiki Arana, David Lundstrom and Eric Meyer on the sales desk, she said. The general manager is Brian Petho, and the chief financial officer "and our new CEO is my husband, Chris Martin. My brother, Benjamin Bon, and myself are really working more on the farming operation side."
The company's farming and packing operations in Mexico are located near Guasave in the state of Sinaloa, about 90 miles north of Culiacan.
"We are really excited about this year because we have a really strong grower base that is coming in with us," Ms. Martin said. "We are going to have a full line of vegetable items," including "a very strong program on mini-sweet peppers."
Open-field products will consist of Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, Italian squash, yellow squash, mixed hot peppers, eggplant, Chinese vegetables, pickles and cucumbers.
The company will also have hothouse products consisting of European cucumbers, mini-sweet peppers, colored bell peppers, cluster tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and Persian cucumbers.
"We are opening up some new areas for organic, with organic string beans, organic cherry tomatoes and organic grape tomatoes," Ms. Martin added. It will be the Wilson family's first entrance into organics "on our own farms," she said. "One of our growers was already in the organic program last year, and he will continue. He will have a beefsteak [tomato] program."
Overall, "we are going to have a really strong product line this year," she said. The company's top label will be "Wilson's," and "Diamond J" will be the second label, she said.
