Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/586338
P r o d u c e S h o w D a i l y 7 7 S a t u r d a y, O c t o b e r 2 4 , 2 0 1 5 installed over 2,500 ripening rooms in North American since 1994. That must give you pretty good insight into the retail banana trade. DB: Well, considering over 70 percent of all bananas ripened in North America are ripened in Thermal Tech rooms, I guess you can say we're in a pretty unique posi- tion. We work with all major growers and nearly all of the top grocery retailers across the US, Canada and Mexico, so we're deeply involved on both sides of the equation. PSD: You said quality control has become more important than sourcing, both for the big exporters as well as the large retailers. What's changed? DB: Back in the 1980s, the Big Three global banana traders, Chiquita, Dole and DelMonte, controlled more than 65 percent of all global banana exports. In 2013, that total was down to just 37 percent. This reflects a shift away from plantation ownership and production by the Big Three towards post-production and supply chain logistics. So now you have the Big Three as well as some larger retailers and wholesalers sourcing bananas from multiple growers, then marketing and distributing them under a single brand. This has shifted the conversa- tion away from sourcing to how to maximize quality and consistency at the point-of-sale with fruit coming from multiple sources. PSD: How is this affecting the industry? DB: Interestingly enough, I believe the new emphasis on retail quality has actu- ally made things better. It's created a new partnership mentality in which all the stakeholders share the same common goal. In this new environment the ripen- Thermal Technologies (Cont'd. from p. 1) ing operation pulls together the varied interests of grower, marketer, wholesaler and retailer, all of whom have a vested interest in providing consistent, high quality fruit whether it comes from one supplier or many. It's been good for us, too. We recently doubled our manufac- turing floor space from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet just to keep pace with orders. PSD: But how does this new model dif- fer from the way things worked in the past? DB: Due to the sheer size and volume of some of our retail customers, this new focus on retail quality often puts com- petitors on the same team. We've ended up working side by side with more than one of the major suppliers for the same retailer at the same time. While this was nearly unheard-of in the past, this new partnership mentality makes good busi- ness sense today, where the needs of the large retailers drive the market. PSD: How do you see these changes impacting the marketplace in the years ahead? DB: While the shift of market power towards retailers has created opportu- nities for smaller growers and suppli- ers, the sheer size and market reach of the Big Three along with value-added services and marketing means they will continue to have a powerful influ- ence on the industry. But as retailers continue to diversify with more grow- ers providing a greater variety of organics and other banana types, there's also no doubt that ripening will play an increasingly important role in making sure all these products reach the consumer with the predictable high quality and consistency the market demands. For more information visit booth #437, contact David Byrne at 803.461.7980 or go online to www.GoTarpless.com. you would. LB: Absolutely! Our slogan and motto describe it well: The Pharr International Bridge is the Texas corridor to interna- tional trade; It's your connection, your business, your bridge. The Pharr Bridge lines up directly with I-69, which con- nects the southern point of Texas and Northern Mexico to the entire U.S., via the NAFTA Free Trade Corridor, all the way up to the north-northeast corner of the country, where we ship and deliver products and goods to the highest popu- lated areas and biggest markets. We are of utmost importance to the U.S. and Mexico economies, with over $30 billion in total trade value with the world in 2014. PSD: What advantage does the I-69 route offer? LB: It's the path of least resistance that connects the Supervía Mazatlán- Matamoros (or the Northern Mexico Trade Corridor) to the rest of the country. This cuts 600-700 miles off the length of a competing route through Nogales into Arizona. PSD: Tell us about the port facilities. LB: We are the only full-service com- mercial bridge in the region. We have six commercial entry lanes with a fast lane, x-ray, gammas, well laid-out inspection dock and cold inspection area. In recent years, we've made significant invest- ments inside the port to improve the speed and efficiency with which products can move through the inspection process. One of our investments was the installa- tion of a cold inspection facility that allows produce to be inspected without breaking the cold chain. In addition, about three years ago, we invested in two additional commercial entry lanes and corresponding super-booths. When trucks enter the federal facility, it now Pharr (Cont'd. from p. 1) opens up into six lanes, which allows for a speedier entry into the importation lot. We are currently working on a new infra- structure project, the BSIF Connector/FAST Lane/Gate-to-Gate, to be completed by the end of 2016. This will allow 30 percent of the truck traffic through the port to bypass the entire import lot because they are either certi- fied or empties. We've also invested about $90,000 in overtime pay for CBP personnel through the 559 Program to speed up the process during peak times. PSD: I understand that you have other projects in the pipeline too. LB: Yes, CBP Council and GSA just accepted four new infrastructure projects that we proposed through the 559 Program. One project will add two com- mercial entry lanes and two super- booths, which will be dedicated, one specifically for wide loads and one specifically for certified and empties. The second project will be two addition- al exit lanes and two super-booths. These will be dedicated just like the two new entry lanes. The third project is a truck staging area inside the port, which will allow us to park the trucks while they're waiting for additional inspections. In essence, we'll bring them off the bridge, they'll park and be assigned a number for further inspection, if need be. The fourth is an augmentation for the USDA facili- ties. We will build a brand-new agricul- tural inspection facility, which will also serve as a training center for agriculture specialists and entomologists. We are already the number one produce bridge in the nation, and we continue to grow by 5 to 7 percent each year. The Pharr Bridge continues to break new ground and break import/export records. We're looking toward the future, and the future's look- ing real good! For more information, visit booth #3829 at Fresh Summit. After the show, email Luis Bazán at luis.bazan@pharr-tx.gov or call 956.402.4660. snack for healthy living. PSD: What is the best way to display your products? MM: To display our retail products, we help the produce manager create a "sun dried tomato destination" for their shoppers. Our two metal floor displays offer a small footprint, full- color graphic headers and a combina- tion of our bagged tomatoes and jarred tomatoes in olive oil. You can also custom-mix the products to your store's needs. In addition to our current racks, Mooney Farms has recently added a lower profile metal display rack that incorporates our award-winning Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Now, Bella Sun Luci customers who know and love the Bella Sun Luci brand can also purchase our estate-grown Extra Virgin Olive Oil. PSD: Not all consumers know how to use sun-dried tomatoes. Do you offer recipes and cooking suggestions for your Mooney Farms (Cont'd. from p. 4) products? MM: We offer full-color recipe book- lets on every jar, and each of our dry bagged items have a delicious recipe or serving idea on the back. On our web- site we offer the consumer a content- rich recipe page so that they are never unsure of how to use our products. We also promote healthful snacking by let- ting consumers know that sun-dried tomatoes are a smart, healthy and ready-to-eat snack. PSD: What type of web presence do you have? MM: We interface with our customers on a daily basis via our Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages. We also post weekly recipe ideas, valuable coupon links, and healthy eating tips to stay in touch with our valued customers. Keeping customers up to date on new medical research that supports eating a balanced diet with toma- toes is at the top of our marketing efforts. To learn more about Bella Sun Luci, visit booth #2814, call 530.899.2661 or go to www.MooneyFarms.com. growth. Bank of the West helps agricul- ture clients compete in new markets with new partners without altering their way of doing business. For example, when a foreign buyer negotiates with a U.S. exporter, if the foreign buyer has its bank certify the invoice, Bank of the West is able to assume the risk of the buyer's overseas bank to pay the U.S. exporter early(subject to credit approval). Shifting the risk of the overseas buyer to the over- seas bank also helps protect U.S. exporters against losses. Risks related to commercial con- tracts can be reduced. Agriculture com- panies rely on buyers and/or suppliers, which may create credit and concentra- tion risk. To help companies with a large portion of their receivables tied up with a single buyer manage the related risk, Bank of the West can set up a receivables purchase facility that enables clients to transfer payment risk to a banking part- ner, reducing the risk concentrated with Bank of the West (Cont'd. from p. 4) that single entity. Bank of the West can extract addi- tional sources of liquidity related to commercial contracts. Trade finance experts can analyze an agricultural company's trade and supply chain cycles to extract alternative and incre- mental sources of buyer or supplier liq- uidity. For example, when the U.S. dol- lar is strengthening, foreign buyers may be willing to pay a higher price relative to a strong dollar if they can negotiate more favorable payment terms. Bank of the West offers a unique asset purchas- ing solution on foreign high-quality or insured receivables that allows agricul- tural companies to extend more attrac- tive payment terms while accelerating their collection cycle, creating incre- mental liquidity with no disruption as typically both the collection flow and the accounting treatment remain unchanged. To speak to a relationship manager call 866.501.4976, or visit booth #714.