GreenLine Foods chief turning over company reins
GreenLine Foods chief turning over company reins
Jeff Twyman, founder, president and chief executive officer of GreenLine Foods in Bowling Green, OH, has announced that he will retire at the end of this year.
Mr. Twyman will continue in the role of chairman of the board but will be handing off daily management responsibilities to Jeffrey D. Rettig, who has been named president of the company. Mr. Rettig has been with the company for approximately eight years and most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Mr. Twyman founded GreenLine in 1984 and was one of the early grower- shippers of fresh produce to enter the value-added category with fresh, ready-to-eat trimmed green beans. GreenLine first found acceptance in the foodservice segment of the industry with customers such as Sysco, U.S. Foodservice and Gordon Foodservice. Eventually, the line expanded into retail at Safeway, Kroger, Albertson and Walmart.
Today, GreenLine has sales in all 50 states and Canada, and has its own delivery fleet of over 75 trucks and trailers.
According to Mr. Twyman, the company's nationwide growth has been as pleasing to him as the financial success.
"Back in 1984, we never anticipated having facilities in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Nevada," Mr. Twyman said in a press release. "Just trying to take an idea and a couple of patents from the kitchen table to commercialization was a daunting task. Having achieved this with some trusting and supportive customers, like LaGrasso Brothers in Detroit, Ben Giambrone & Company in Rochester, New York, and Garden Fresh Salad in Boston seemed like the definition of success; but the popularity of the trimmed green beans kept growing and so did GreenLine."
In addition to trimmed ready-to-eat green beans, GreenLine has expanded into packaged, microwaveable snow peas, squash, new potatoes, sweet potatoes and zucchini. Recently, the company acquired two independent companies, allowing it to expand into the fresh herb business on a national level.
Mr. Twyman said that in order to serve customers all over the country and make timely deliveries three to four times per week, the company needed to increase its presence in different geographic regions.
"Seeing these facilities built and prospering gives me the same sense of satisfaction experienced with the original Ohio plant," he added in the press release. "Training management teams for each of these locations was challenging, but their eventual success was very satisfying to watch. Today, we have almost 400 full-time employees engaged in everything from farming to distribution across North America."
Reflecting on his decision to retire, Mr. Twyman said, "Today I'm 55 years old and hardly ready to buy a rocking chair, but as I look around the company and see so many talented employees, it tells me it's safe to put our creation in their able hands, and a necessity to allow their ideas and energy to take us into the future. I'm really excited to see what they can achieve and create over the next four to five years and beyond. As for myself, GreenLine was actually a second career following the practice of law. I think I have time for a third career but actually have no idea what it might be. I just feel lucky to be in a position that allows me to step back and contemplate the most productive way to spend the next 10 to 15 years of my professional life."
Mr. Twyman will continue in the role of chairman of the board but will be handing off daily management responsibilities to Jeffrey D. Rettig, who has been named president of the company. Mr. Rettig has been with the company for approximately eight years and most recently served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Mr. Twyman founded GreenLine in 1984 and was one of the early grower- shippers of fresh produce to enter the value-added category with fresh, ready-to-eat trimmed green beans. GreenLine first found acceptance in the foodservice segment of the industry with customers such as Sysco, U.S. Foodservice and Gordon Foodservice. Eventually, the line expanded into retail at Safeway, Kroger, Albertson and Walmart.
Today, GreenLine has sales in all 50 states and Canada, and has its own delivery fleet of over 75 trucks and trailers.
According to Mr. Twyman, the company's nationwide growth has been as pleasing to him as the financial success.
"Back in 1984, we never anticipated having facilities in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Nevada," Mr. Twyman said in a press release. "Just trying to take an idea and a couple of patents from the kitchen table to commercialization was a daunting task. Having achieved this with some trusting and supportive customers, like LaGrasso Brothers in Detroit, Ben Giambrone & Company in Rochester, New York, and Garden Fresh Salad in Boston seemed like the definition of success; but the popularity of the trimmed green beans kept growing and so did GreenLine."
In addition to trimmed ready-to-eat green beans, GreenLine has expanded into packaged, microwaveable snow peas, squash, new potatoes, sweet potatoes and zucchini. Recently, the company acquired two independent companies, allowing it to expand into the fresh herb business on a national level.
Mr. Twyman said that in order to serve customers all over the country and make timely deliveries three to four times per week, the company needed to increase its presence in different geographic regions.
"Seeing these facilities built and prospering gives me the same sense of satisfaction experienced with the original Ohio plant," he added in the press release. "Training management teams for each of these locations was challenging, but their eventual success was very satisfying to watch. Today, we have almost 400 full-time employees engaged in everything from farming to distribution across North America."
Reflecting on his decision to retire, Mr. Twyman said, "Today I'm 55 years old and hardly ready to buy a rocking chair, but as I look around the company and see so many talented employees, it tells me it's safe to put our creation in their able hands, and a necessity to allow their ideas and energy to take us into the future. I'm really excited to see what they can achieve and create over the next four to five years and beyond. As for myself, GreenLine was actually a second career following the practice of law. I think I have time for a third career but actually have no idea what it might be. I just feel lucky to be in a position that allows me to step back and contemplate the most productive way to spend the next 10 to 15 years of my professional life."
