Wye Fruit George Leeds

Wye Fruit chairman George Leeds 

Herefordshire producer organisation Wye Fruit has welcomed David Harrison-Branter as new operations manager while Ali Capper joins the board of directors.

The group of 15 growers, based around Ledbury, made the announcement ahead of the new growing season.

A former employee at both Heineken and Bevisol, Harrison-Branter will support Chris Fletcher in his new role of general manager and focus on driving efficiencies at the company’s Ledbury packhouse.

Wye Fruit chairman George Leeds said Capper’s appointment to the board brings a wealth of industry experience through her work as chairman of the NFU’s horticulture and potatoes board.

Leeds said: “Wye Fruit is in great shape going into the 2017 season. Both these appointments are intended to ensure that we continue to put the interests of our members at the heart of everything that we do in ensuring we understand what today’s consumers want and that we continue to deliver the highest quality soft fruit, apples and pears to our supermarket customers.”

Wye Fruit produces and packs soft and topfruit in the West Midlands, specialising in strawberry varieties Sweet Eve and Eve’s Delight; blueberry varieties Duke and Liberty; kiwiberries and topfruit.