Mike Alliman named CFO of River Ranch
River Ranch Fresh Foods LLC in Salinas, CA, announced the appointment of Mike Alliman to the position of chief financial officer.
Mr. Alliman will be responsible for all accounting and finance activities of the company, including grower accounting, payables, receivables and financial reporting.
A certified public accountant who holds a master of accountancy with an emphasis in cost accounting, Mr. Alliman reports directly to Jim Lucas, CEO and president.
Nancy Betancourt named director of fresh fruit sales for Maui Pineapple
Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd., a leading supplier of high-quality, fresh Hawaiian pineapple based in Kahului, Maui, announced that Nancy Betancourt has been named director of fresh fruit sales. The appointment was effective Jan. 3.
?Nancy has terrific experience in the fresh produce industry and more specifically in developing business for fresh Hawaiian Pineapple," said Howard Nager, vice president of fresh sales and marketing. "We are looking for Nancy to build new relationships and seek out new business opportunities in support of our projected growth."
Black Diamond buys Sun World for $127 million
When Sun World International Inc., in Bakersfield, CA, went on the auction block Thursday, Jan. 13, the bidding opened at $95 million, with Black Diamond Capital Management LLC, a Lake Forest, IL-based investment group and a major Sun World bond holder, as the stalking horse bidder.
But other investors were also very eager to add Sun World to their portfolio " so eager that at the end of the day, the winning bid " from Black Diamond " came in at $127,750,000.
RETAIL VIEW: Wal-Mart's RFID initiative on track
When Wal-Mart asked its 100 top suppliers to be moving aggressively toward RFID-readiness by Jan. 1, 2005, many in the chip industry doubted it was possible. And it was somewhat of a foregone conclusion that no produce industry firms would be able to comply " nor were they asked to. But just as the giant chain?s general merchandise suppliers began to move toward radio frequency identification, so did some of Wal-Mart?s top produce suppliers. And in the first week of January, some produce shipments did go to the chain with an RFID attached.
F.S. Duda announces retirement as CEO of A. Duda & Sons; Joseph A. Duda appointed new CEO
Ferdinand S. Duda, chief executive officer of the agribusiness A. Duda & Sons Inc., based in Oviedo, FL, has announced his retirement from full-time employment with the family-owned business, effective Jan. 1.
Mr. Duda has been elected to serve as chairman of the board of directors and will continue to work on special projects for the company on a consulting basis.
Joseph A. Duda will succeed his brother as chief executive officer and continue to serve as president.
Half of Costa Rica?s banana crop flooded
At least four Costa Ricans were killed, 16,000 people were evacuated and thousands of acres of bananas were destroyed when record-breaking rains struck the Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica and northern Panama Jan. 8. While the worst rainfall was on Jan. 8, the downpour didn?t end until Jan. 13.
N.C. SweetPotato Commission offers chefs and restaurateurs some R&R
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission kicked off a new program designed to recognize and reward chefs and restaurateurs who are supporting North Carolina sweet potato growers by including them and identifying their origin on menus.
Effective Jan. 1 and running through April 30, the commission will be accepting applications from chefs and restaurateurs in North Carolina and surrounding states who want to be considered for this program.
Words count: Knowing your floral terms makes you more professional
The word is out. Webster?s Dictionary announced its choice for 2004?s word of the year " "adultescent," a noun describing an adult who is still an adolescent at heart.
Ever heard of it? Me neither, but according to Webster?s editor-in-chief, "adultescent? is just one of many vocabulary clues indicating the trends and preoccupations of our society. The editor reminds us that American English is a vigorous, evolving language. Compound words are especially popular to describe our likes and dislikes.
Sunsweet Fresh launches ready-to-eat Anjou pears
Sunsweet Fresh announced the launch of its ready-to-eat gourmet Anjou pears packed in unique modified-atmosphere packaging.
After rigorous testing, Sunsweet Fresh was able to select what it has found to be the best MAP technology currently available, allowing for the ripening of pears to their peak of flavor.
Aroma opens the door to a new dimension in produce marketing
As packaging is increasingly used in the fresh produce industry, consumers? sense of smell is eliminated as a marketing issue. But ScentSational Technologies, based in the Philadelphia suburb of Jenkintown, PA, is offering a new packaging technology that can make packaging smell like the product.
Since ScentSational began commercialization in the fourth quarter of 2003, it has been busy working with the world?s leading packaged food and beverage companies to apply its patented CompelAroma " a proprietary technology utilizing encapsulated flavor and aroma " to packaging.