Kathy Hearl, marketing promotions manager for Fort Pierce, FL-based DNE World Fruit LLC said that the company will be exhibiting at the 2013 New England Produce & Floral Council Expo at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston at booth number 327.

“Tom Cowan, South African sales manager and Stu Monaghan, national marketing manager and Australian sales manager, will both be at the show to greet and meet with visitors,” said Ms. Hearl. “DNE is currently promoting Florida grapefruit and Valencia oranges. We will have some of both on hand at the expo.”

DNE World Fruit’s roots stem back to 1914 when Joseph B. Egan founded Egan, Fickett, & Co. as a receiver and distributer of fruit and vegetables in New York City.

In the 1920s, Mr. Egan started marketing direct from Florida to his primary customers. In the following decade, his son, Bernard Egan joined the company to work alongside his brothers in the sales department.

In the 1960s, the company founded East Coast Packers in Ft. Pierce, FL, and in 1968, DNE was created as its marketing division.

The company’s evolvement in the following five decades was momentous. In the early 1970s, it began marketing overseas to markets in Japan and Europe, and twenty years later, it was awarded the President’s “E” Star award for excellence in exporting. Today, DNE is the largest exporter of fresh citrus from Florida.

In 1983, DNE became the exclusive marketer for Waverly Growers Cooperative with a focus on oranges and specialty citrus such as tangerines and tangelos.

In the early 1990s, the company began importing Navel oranges from Australia, and consumers quickly accepted the delicious summer variety. The Australian program grew to over 1.6 million cartons annually by 1999.

DNE World Fruit soon added Minneolas, Honey tangerines, Ellendales, lemons and clementines to its U.S. import programs.

A major stepping stone for the company was in 1997 when it entered into a long term strategic alliance with Ocean Spray for marketing fresh citrus, and in 1999 it opened its West Coast office in Riverside, CA, to establish marketing of citrus as part of its commitment to being a year-round supplier of fresh citrus.

In 2000, the company added Texas and Arizona to its citrus producing state roster, and it added two California suppliers: DiMare and Sequoia Orange Company.

In 2001, DNE World Fruit imported its first shipments of South African citrus into the United States.

Today, the company has sales offices in Fort Pierce and in Gloucester, NJ. Its loading and shipping locations are located in Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and New Jersey.

Ms. Hearl said that during the NEPC Expo, DNE World Fruit Sales will be promoting its full line of summer citrus from South Africa, Australia, Chile, Peru and Mexico.

“The summer citrus season will kick off in late May and run through October,” she said. “We will be promoting clementines, navel oranges, Minneolas and Midknights.

“The New England Produce Council Expo provides us with an opportunity to meet face to face with our loyal retailers and wholesale partners to discuss and share some ideas on our current Florida program as well as the upcoming summer citrus program,” she added.