More than 100 years ago, farmer William Urschel, who grew gooseberries in the Midwest, designed the Gooseberry Snipper to trim both the stem and blossom end from a gooseberry, which was a popular crop at the time. That led to the launching of a machinery company in Valparaiso, IN, that would soon be known as Urschel Laboratories Inc.

“Doing that by hand was very labor-intensive,” said Rick Urschel, current president of the firm. “The machine did the work of 100 laborers.”

Yet another fierce storm has hit the Northeast, this one shutting down ports and closing produce terminal markets early. The storm was expected to blast Boston on Thursday night and continue throughout much of New England throughout Thursday and Friday.

STILLWELL, KS — With industry consolidation in Kansas City and a corresponding drop in produce buyers, “we are expanding to other parts of the country,” said Jimmy Connell, a salesman and family owner of Keith Connell Inc.

“Our numbers are growing. Our business is pretty good right now,” he added.

This, despite the fact that “options in Kansas City aren’t what they used to be.” The firm operates from a spacious new office in Kansas City’s southern suburbs.

Tom Lange Co. added produce veteran Mark Krauter to its sales team. Krauter has worked with fresh fruits and vegetables in both North America and South America, most recently serving as director of international sales for Amerifresh. He will be opening a sales office in Visalia, CA, operating under Lange’s Seven Seas banner.

The office will focus on sourcing California and Arizona fruits and vegetables for customers throughout the United States and Canada, as well as select export customers.

NORTH KANSAS CITY, MO — C&C Produce Co., located here, is taking the “locally grown” produce category to new heights.

Nick Conforti, Sr., one of three C&C partners, hired Chris Shea, to lead C&C’s local product market development. “We have a lot of customers interested in the flavor profile” of locally-grown produce, Conforti said. “It is ripe and fresh. And, there is the support of the community, where it is important to the end consumer. But the most important of these is the flavor profile.”

OVERLAND PARK, KS — Filling gaps for regional wholesalers is the niche of Dennis Finucane, the owner of the produce brokerage F.G.F. Co., here.

Jim Gilson is an F.G.F. partner and works with Finucane on the sales desk.

“We put mixers together,” Finucane told The Produce News. “No order is too small, but we put together as decent of a load as we can. We’ll do a two- or three-pallet drop.”

Beyond this Kansas City area, Finucane serves wholesalers in Joplin and Springfield, MO, Pittsburg, KS, and Oklahoma City.