Four years ago, Brett Combs came to the conclusion that he would need to bring in strategic partners with a track record of growing companies to take Dallas-based Combs Produce, which was founded by J.C. Combs over 50 years ago, to the next level. He found those partners in Jay Pack, formerly of Standard Fruit & Vegetable, and CIC Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm with a strong track record in produce and foodservice.

(Christine Schuster Morley is president of Rio Fresh)

SAN JUAN, TX — Carl Frederick Schuster came to the United States in 1933. His mother, Bertha, could see problems ahead for Europe with the rise of Adolf Hitler, so she decided to send her oldest son to Texas to live with her two brothers, Max and Fred Krenmueller, who had started a farming operation in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas — and that is where Mr. Schuster was headed at the age of 15.

In 1929, during the heart of the Great Depression, a group of citrus growers around Edinburg, TX, first put forth the idea of forming a collective to market their products. In June of 1932, growers from across the Rio Grande Valley turned that dream into a reality when they met and signed the first contracts that formed the Edinburg Citrus Association — now the only existing fresh citrus cooperative in the state of Texas.

During the upcoming 2011-12 season, the association will be celebrating its 80th year in the Texas citrus industry.

In 1935, Frank Schuster Sr., a young immigrant from Austria, made his way to South Texas in search of a new home and the American Dream. Just 15 years old, Mr. Schuster took what he already knew about hard work and set out to earn a living. In addition to starting a family, he built a business that became synonymous with agriculture in the Rio Grande Valley and lives on today in the McAllen, TX-based Val Verde Vegetable Co.

After one year in business, most companies are still trying to clear the runway and get their landing gear up. But with its principals’ 60 years of combined experience in the produce industry, SunPac Growers in San Antonio, TX, celebrated its first anniversary at cruising altitude and is poised to fly even higher.