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P r o d u c e S h o w D a i l y 2 7 F r i d a y, O c t o b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 as the current year, the sweet potato yields will tend to favor more bagged promotions, so Market Fresh is currently locking up contracts with its current as well as new retail and food service customers. Higher retails on bulk sweet potatoes tend to have consumers looking for more of a value, and Market Fresh bags do just that for them. With the sweet onion category, it has been a banner year for Market Fresh. Starting with Vidalia and now with the Driven by the high graphic bags in both sweet potato and sweet onion cate- gories, Market Fresh is showing record sales trends. "While bulk sweet potatoes and sweet onions still represent the majority of the category sales, our bagged program continues to gain momentum year over year," commented Mike Kemp, Senior Director of Business Development. Peruvian and Western sweet onions, the quali- ty, supply and consisten- cy could not have been any better. Each year Market Fresh gains more customers, primarily because of its consistent flavor profiles, its nationwide distribution network and its impeccable level of service. For more information, visit www.market- freshproduce.net, call 866-885-7751 or email sales@marketfreshproduce.net. Much of the sales gain with the bags can be attributed to the high graphics and wealth of information for the consumer. Over 70 percent of consumers state that they make their buying decision at the point of purchase, so eye-catching dis- plays and packaging with cooking and nutritional information are very impor- tant to them. Kemp also stated that in a year such SWEET POTATO, SWEET ONION SALES INCREASING FOR MARKET FRESH ciency. We look for every opportunity to minimize costs through improved productivity and excellent vendor rela- tions, in order to not only add to our bot- tom line but also to enhance our value proposition to our customers. Innovation and Entrepreneurship At Hellmann, we foster creativity, inno- vation and entrepreneurship throughout the company, creating an environment where it is okay to take risks. We encour- age our people to think outside of the box, and relentlessly promote service customization to keep abreast of the con- tinually changing needs and expectations of our customers. Sustainability At Hellmann, we are serious about provid- ing services on the principles of economi- cal, ecological and social sustainability to create opportunities for future generations. We are sensitive and responsible to people, communities and environ- ments within the regions in which we are active. Through these principles of a sustain- able development, we ensure the future of our family-owned business. You and Me Every day, 'You and Me' take on new goals and challenges, whether it be a shipment having to reach its destination successfully, a particular work process undergoing modification, or new con- cepts being developed, 'You and Me' make it happen. 'You and Me' stands for our commitment to one another, enlight- ening us in times when we really need to support each other, inspiring us to lend a hand to others when necessary, and moti- vating us to work together. 'You and Me' relationships that last generations. During Fresh Summit, visit Hellmann's at booth 3318. Go online at www.hell- mann.net/hpl, call 305-594-4995, or email rates@hplgroup.com. By Markus Fellmann, Global VP, Hellmann Perishable Logistics. Hellmann' Corporate DNA defines who we are and what makes us stand out. It also ensures our heritage through succes- sive generations by enabling new team members from around the world to share our values. People First At Hellmann, we create and sustain a fun, stimulating and empowering environ- ment that attracts, retains and nourishes good people. Through training, compen- sation and recognition, we encourage our people to develop their talents in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. Our people are the essence of our suc- cess. They determine our customers' per- ception of our organization. They direct- ly affect the customers' satisfaction and loyalty, and we understand that. All About the Customers, Always We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our ability to add value to our services so we can surpass the needs and expectations of our customers. We strive to deliver the experience the customer truly wants, everywhere around the world, by listening to them and by taking time to know and understand them better. We take great pride in being a customer- centric organization, and making sure we have our customers in mind in every task we perform. Making It Work Better, Every Day Through business processes and high quality standards, we increase our orga- nizational agility and operational effi- HELLMANN'S DEFINED BY CORPORATE DNA A surge in market demand prompted Thermal Technologies, the industry leader in ripening room design and instal- lation, to undertake a major expansion at its Blythewood, S.C. corporate headquar- ters. Completed last year, the expansion added 15,000 square feet to the manufac- turing area of the facility. "There's been a major increase in ripening room installations across the U.S., Canada and Mexico over the last few years," says Jim Lentz, President. "As a result, we were running out of manufacturing space. As soon as compo- nents for one job were assembled, we would have to move them across the lot to our 6,000 square foot annex building to make room for the next. With this expansion, we now have the ability to run as many as five assembly lines at the MARKET DEMAND FUELS FACILITY EXPANSION AT THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES of operational and main- tenance issues. By elim- inating the need for tarps while increasing ripening efficiency and per-box profit, the TarpLess ripening room took the industry by storm and has been leading the way ever since. Today, more than 70 percent of all bananas processed in North America are ripened in Thermal Tech rooms. That adds up to more than 100 million pounds of daily ripening capacity. TarpLess tech- nology has now been expanded to include rooms for ripening pears, avoca- dos and stone fruit, as well as multi-fruit rooms with temperature ranges that can handle everything from pre-cooling to low-temp storage. Besides a larger manufacturing area, the expansion also added two new elevat- ed loading dock bays, two new bay doors and two overhead cranes for the trans- portation of finished product within the facility. The cement apron surrounding the building was also increased in size to same time, greatly increasing our manu- facturing capability as well as our opera- tional efficiency." Established in suburban Philadelphia in 1987, Thermal Technologies moved to their expanded corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Blythewood, S.C. in 2002. Their cus- tomer list reads like a who's who of the most successful retailers in North America: from Ahold and Albertsons to Kroger, Safeway, Sobeys, Wal-Mart and Wegmans, just to name a few. Thermal Tech's success is attributa- ble in large part to the development of the patented TarpLess ® ripening room sys- tem, which they invented in the early 1990s. Up to that time, pressurized ripen- ing rooms used a variety of tarps and airbags to seal off pallets, creating a host facilitate an increase in shipping traffic. "There's always a risk when you invest in a major expansion," says Lentz. "We were lucky, in that we were able to self-finance the project. The timing couldn't have been any better. We received a bunch of new orders as the expansion wrapped up and there's been no letup ever since. We're proud of the fact that all of our ripening room components are made in America, and the expanded production capacity has already generated a solid return on investment. This will help us continue the innovation necessary to pro- vide cutting-edge ripening room and cold storage solutions to our customers in the years ahead." TarpLess is a registered trademark of Thermal Technologies, Inc. Visit Thermal Tech at booth 3057 during Fresh Summit, or check out www.gotarp- less.com to find out more. LINDSAY FARMS TAKES GREAT PRODUCE TO MAKE GOURMET FRUIT SALSAS Lindsay Farms Specialties, the largest gourmet salsa producer in Mathews, Ala., has expanded its fruit salsa line to include Wild Maine Blueberry Salsa. The new Blueberry Salsa is a unique blend of Maine blueberries, California jalapeos, and locally grown tomatoes to form a tart but also sweet blend of flavor delights. In addition to the new Wild Maine Blueberry Salsa, Lindsay Farms offers a variety of gour- met salsas, including Georgia Peach, Spicy Alabama Peach, Mango Lime, Strawberry, Raspberry Chipotle, Mountain Apple, Mandarin Orange, Tropical Pineapple, and Blackeye Pea. All of Lindsay Farms salsas are delightfully ver- satile served over cream cheese with crackers, served over omelets or fish, or simply served with tor- tilla chips. Lindsay Farms products are avail- able in specialty gift and food stores nationwide, and at www.lindsayfarms.com, or by phone at 800.243.4608.