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Eurofresh co-founder returns as chief officer
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| Alonso Portillo, greenhouse production manager in Site 1, checks on tomato clusters prior to picking. Portillo has been with Eurofresh for eight years, and has an agriculture degree from the Universidad de Sonora, in Sonora, Mexico. (DAVE BROWN/ARN) |
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Johan van den Berg has been reappointed as president and chief executive officer at Eurofresh Farms, a company he co-founded and served on its board of directors as chairman since 2005.
van den Berg was the company's CEO after it was founded in 1992.
Eurofresh Farms, located 20 miles north of Willcox, is the leading year-round producer and marketer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States. The company employs 1,200 people.
The management change came days after emerging from bankruptcy on Nov. 18 and less than seven months after reaching a recapitalization agreement with its investors.
Van den Berg, 54, said he is excited to resume his former role in running operations for the company, which is the leading producer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southern Arizona.
"I am extremely proud of the direction Eurofresh Farms has gone since I co-founded the company 19 years ago," he said. "I'm also excited to return and actively lead this great company into a new chapter of our history."
Former CEO Dwight Ferguson is no longer with the company, said Sam Brace, speaking for the company.
Also leaving the company are David Godfrey, vice president of human resources, and Brian McLaughlin, chief financial officer, Brace said.
He added that Frank van Straalen, a former CFO, is now the executive vice president of operations and interim CFO.
Rounding out the executive management, Mark Cassius is vice president of sales.
van den Berg said Eurofresh's management is committed to innovative produce development outside of their existing tomato and cucumber varieties. The company is also researching and developing sustainable packaging options.
"We're planning to provide more than just our award-winning tomatoes and for years to come," he said.
van den Berg, a third-generation Dutch greenhouse owner, has more than 34 years of experience in the greenhouse produce industry beginning with his family's business in the Netherlands. He co-founded Eurofresh Farms in Pennsylvania in 1990 and moved the company to Willcox in 1992. The Southern Arizona farming operation has grown from 10 to 274 acres and added a 44-acre greenhouse in Snowflake, Ariz. in 2002.
"To turn my small farm into one of the world's largest greenhouse complexes is still thrilling and humbling to me, but we still have new and exciting growth opportunities ahead of us," van den Berg said.
van den Berg is Eurofresh Farms' largest shareholder and has invested large amounts of equity into the company. Several financial institutions such as Barclays Capital and J.P. Morgan have also contributed capital.
"I am personally committed to our customers, employees and business partners to continue providing the freshest, high-quality produce and service in the industry," van den Berg said. "Our recent emergence and continued funding are some of the many steps we will take to stay competitive in today's marketplace and stay on solid financial footing."
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix approved a plan for financial reorganization of Eurofresh Inc. on Oct. 16. Eurofresh and its subsidiary, Eurofresh Produce Ltd., exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of November, and the company entered into a settlement with the majority of its existing debt holders to convert more than $200 million of debt into equity. The agreement states that Eurofresh will receive $35 million in new capital to repay debt and ensure financial stability to continue investing in strategic capital expenditures, said former CEO Ferguson in October.
For more information, visit www.eurofresh.com or call (520) 384-4621.
van den Berg was the company's CEO after it was founded in 1992.
Eurofresh Farms, located 20 miles north of Willcox, is the leading year-round producer and marketer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States. The company employs 1,200 people.
The management change came days after emerging from bankruptcy on Nov. 18 and less than seven months after reaching a recapitalization agreement with its investors.
Van den Berg, 54, said he is excited to resume his former role in running operations for the company, which is the leading producer of greenhouse tomatoes in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southern Arizona.
"I am extremely proud of the direction Eurofresh Farms has gone since I co-founded the company 19 years ago," he said. "I'm also excited to return and actively lead this great company into a new chapter of our history."
Former CEO Dwight Ferguson is no longer with the company, said Sam Brace, speaking for the company.
Also leaving the company are David Godfrey, vice president of human resources, and Brian McLaughlin, chief financial officer, Brace said.
He added that Frank van Straalen, a former CFO, is now the executive vice president of operations and interim CFO.
Rounding out the executive management, Mark Cassius is vice president of sales.
van den Berg said Eurofresh's management is committed to innovative produce development outside of their existing tomato and cucumber varieties. The company is also researching and developing sustainable packaging options.
"We're planning to provide more than just our award-winning tomatoes and for years to come," he said.
van den Berg, a third-generation Dutch greenhouse owner, has more than 34 years of experience in the greenhouse produce industry beginning with his family's business in the Netherlands. He co-founded Eurofresh Farms in Pennsylvania in 1990 and moved the company to Willcox in 1992. The Southern Arizona farming operation has grown from 10 to 274 acres and added a 44-acre greenhouse in Snowflake, Ariz. in 2002.
"To turn my small farm into one of the world's largest greenhouse complexes is still thrilling and humbling to me, but we still have new and exciting growth opportunities ahead of us," van den Berg said.
van den Berg is Eurofresh Farms' largest shareholder and has invested large amounts of equity into the company. Several financial institutions such as Barclays Capital and J.P. Morgan have also contributed capital.
"I am personally committed to our customers, employees and business partners to continue providing the freshest, high-quality produce and service in the industry," van den Berg said. "Our recent emergence and continued funding are some of the many steps we will take to stay competitive in today's marketplace and stay on solid financial footing."
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix approved a plan for financial reorganization of Eurofresh Inc. on Oct. 16. Eurofresh and its subsidiary, Eurofresh Produce Ltd., exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of November, and the company entered into a settlement with the majority of its existing debt holders to convert more than $200 million of debt into equity. The agreement states that Eurofresh will receive $35 million in new capital to repay debt and ensure financial stability to continue investing in strategic capital expenditures, said former CEO Ferguson in October.
For more information, visit www.eurofresh.com or call (520) 384-4621.
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