- Processor Power
- Peterson Farms adds celery, increases
asparagus volume with expansion
- By Karen Gentry
Managing Editor
- A substantial increase in the amount of asparagus handled and celery coming in for the first time from Michigan growers to be frozen are just a couple of the reasons behind a $7.5 million expansion at Peterson Farms. The Shelby, Mich.-based company is in the midst of the expansion that will include more equipment, buildings and jobs, according to Earl Peterson, president of Peterson Farms.
The 14 members of the Michigan Celery Promotion Cooperative, Inc. are always looking for new markets, according to Duane Frens, general manager of the cooperative.
“I knew they (Peterson Farms) have a good reputation in the fruit industry. I knew they did a good job with asparagus,” said Frens. “We were looking for outlets for celery and he (Peterson) was looking for a source of celery.”
Frens said the cooperative will prep the celery - slice and dice it in whatever form is needed by Peterson Farms.
Additional cutting capabilities have been added for asparagus, the first crop to come in at Peterson Farms. The company is doing 50% more asparagus this year than their three-year average.
The company processes wet pack spears, wet pack cuts and tips and IQF (individually quick frozen) cuts and tips for asparagus, as well as custom processing for other companies. In late May Peterson Farms was processing and packaging frozen cuts and tips for Birds Eye Foods, the largest frozen vegetable processor in the country.
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- Peterson said the company also does pre-processed asparagus cuts and tips for Seneca Foods, which falls under the Libby’s label. “We receive it, clean it, cut it up, electronically sort it, chill it and then send it to facilities in Wisconsin and New York,” he said about the asparagus for Seneca Foods.
“A substantial amount of Michigan asparagus goes through our facility,” said Peterson. He said they handle 4,000 lugs a day for about five weeks during asparagus season.
An additional tunnel and equipment such as metal detectors and scales will double Peterson’s IQF capacity, allowing the company to IQF two different commodities at the same time.
“We are increasing our sweet cherry capacity of IQF sweet cherries,” said Peterson. The company is adding eight pitters and more equipment for cherries and increasing their peach capacity by 50%.
Apples are still Peterson Farms’ number one commodity. Because of CA storage, apple lines are operating at Peterson Farms 10 months a year. A second apple line primarily for IQF will be added with eight more apple peelers. Peterson Farms is adding bottling capabilities to its juice facility to be able to press, pasteurize and bottle apple cider.
“Last year we sold a lot of cider by the trailer load. This year we’re adding a bottling capacity. We’re working with some other people for labeling,” Peterson said. More CA storage and the expanded lines will enable the company to handle an additional 400,000 bushels of apples.
Peterson Farms has also entered into a new agreement with Shafer Lake Fruit, Inc. in Hartford in Southwest Michigan in an effort to receive and handle more fruit from growers there.
Peterson said they’re looking for more cherries and apples from growers in Southwest Michigan. “We think we can offer some real advantages to growers in that area,” Peterson said. Peterson Farms held an informational meeting in Hartford for growers on June 4. One young grower in Southwest Michigan told Peterson that he was the first person in 10 years to actually encourage him to plant new varieties.
Besides the new CA storage facility, a 25,000 square feet packaging and storage facility has been built and a new 20,000 square feet dry storage facility is on the drawing board.
Peterson Farms, founded in 1984 and in its 20th year, has enjoyed 15% growth each year and is now one of the top employers in Oceana County. Because of the expansion Peterson said he will increase the number of workers by 40 full-time equivalent positions. Peterson Farms currently has 300 workers.
“We actually process six days a week, 24 hours a day,” said Peterson.
He attributes his company’s growth to “customers wanting additional products and growers wanting to sell us additional product.” Customers like the quality, and the growers like the returns the company provides, Peterson said.
Peterson said he believes his company is not as affected by economic downturns when times are hard, as people still eat and make cuts elsewhere.
With all that building, installation of new equipment and general expansion going on, Peterson has come to rely on a dedicated group of highly skilled employees who are experts at what they do. “I grew up on a farm, I always felt we could do it ourselves,” Peterson said about his business philosophies.
By relying on a dedicated group of employees, the company serves as its own contractor. For example, his employees laid the concrete for the new packaging building and make the purchase decisions for large equipment buys.
“We have a large number of dedicated employees who each take different roles,” said Peterson. He gives his management team some leeway to make their own decisions and cites their “can do” attitude for the continued success and growth of the company.
He cited the work of his management team including Cal Moul who serves as purchasing and project manager. Robert Nedow does all the negotiating and purchasing of capital items and designs all the lines. Nedow serves as senior consultant and has a lifetime of experience in the food processing industry, Peterson said. Scott Hegg serves as general manager and does everything from designing computer programs to pulling wire. Larry Rusch who traveled all over the country installing major refrigeration jobs, decided to stay in one place and work for Peterson Farms. He also cited Phil Zacharta, building superintendent, for supervising all the construction from doing the concrete to building an office.
He praised the work of Jerry Gill and Jeremy Woodrun who jointly run the maintenance department, Brad Moul who serves as general manager, product managers Dan Riley and Abram Farias as well as Cheryl McClure, head of quality assurance. Larry Rockwell manages the sanitation department and Rick Dice dispatches the trucking fleet.
“They thrive under pressure,” said Peterson about his employees.
“It’s so much fun. The opportunities are there. It’s just a matter of going after the opportunities,” Peterson said.
