Agro Merchants

Agro Merchants Group has added to new produce ripening chambers at its facility in Vineland, New Jersey. This brings the total number to five, with a capacity of 150 pallets.

Vineland is the largest third party logistics produce facility in the northeastern US, serving hundreds of customers and a wide variety of temperature-controlled products.

Explaining the ripening process, Elizabeth Lund, managing director of Vineland said: “After receiving a shipment of unripe produce, such as bananas and avocados, we can achieve a precise stage of ripeness within 1-4 days.

“We use ethylene gas, humidity and air circulation control to manage the ripening process. We have perfected the process over the years and there has been a great demand for this service amongst our customers.”

In addition to storage, handling and distribution services, Vineland has the capability to repack products from basic shrink-wrapping applications to unique, customised packaging services for the retail and foodservice industries.

Last year, Agro Merchants Vineland made a significant investment in an eight-lane optical grader for citrus, avocados and other commodities.

Agro Merchants Group is the fourth largest coldstorage operator in the world, with 66 facilities in 11 countries across Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.