Good morning and thank you all for your presence here this morning to share with us such an important day.
First and foremost, I would like to give special recognition to Mr. Jim Darling, mayor of the City of McAllen, and also to his staff for all the support provided in making this day a reality.
And also to Mr. Michael Scaief, chairman of the board of Texas Regional Bank, and his staff for the trust given to our company to make this project possible.
Today is a very special day, as we also celebrate the 109th Anniversary of the founding of the City of McAllen, Texas. It gives us much pride to join this great celebration and to have witnessed this growth first hand over the last two decades.
Congratulations.
We believe that this project, in addition to generating a great impact on the commercial sector of the produce industry, will also bring benefits to the community itself.
GR Fresh is a Mexican agri-food company brining more than 70 years of experience in the produce industry and with more than two decades of presence in McAllen.
These 70 years led us to continue to reaffirm our commitment to provide fresh and quality food to American families. To continue this mission and see our need for a competitive edge, we decided we needed a more suitable home, which is the culmination of all our hard work; to ultimately achieve our place at the forefront of our industry, not only opting for the latest technology, but also facing the challenges that the world presents in all sectors today.
We see a great opportunity to be able to unite two important markets worldwide: the American market, to which we can offer high quality agri-food products and the Mexican market, which receives the benefit of increasing the well-being to the Mexican families, achieving in this way a stronger commercial relationship between both countries.
These new facilities will have a construction area of 100,000 square feet, divided into 6,000 square feet of offices, 12 cold rooms with a total storage capacity of approximately 6,000 pallet space, which will allow us to provide loading and unloading service through the 30 doors to receive and ship our trucks daily. Without a doubt a big change thanks to the growth that GR Fresh has had in recent years.
We can then affirm that this new project will provide our customers, suppliers, service providers and finally consumers, the confidence that we will maintain the quality, efficiencies, and food safety of all our products and services.
Finally, we thank once again the city of McAllen, Texas, the Texas Regional Bank, customers and suppliers for their trust and for the support they have provided. I would like to congratulate the GR Fresh team for their commitment, service and daily dedication. This first stone symbolizes the love and our great passion that we call work, a passion that we share daily to achieve the union of this important project that will be for the benefit of all.
Thank you,
Miguel Angel Gonzalez
CEO
GR Fresh
Webb: Days of 20,000 square feet of warehouse space are long gone
Good morning to everyone and thank you for being part of this momentous event for our company. We are very honored to have the support from the City of McAllen and Texas Regional Bank.
To have them show such passion and energy for this project that will be such a positive impact to the city’s economy, to our company and to the produce industry is truly appreciated. Thank you!
I would like to share a few details about how this project has come to life and how we have envisioned our growth and contribution to the produce industry and to the community of McAllen.
In the last decade, McAllen has become a major hub for produce imports. Ten years ago, 20,000 sure foot warehouse appeared to be a reasonable amount of space for our operations. Well, those days are gone, and with the increasing demand of the U.S. and Canadian markets and the positive impact made on our growth as a company, this project was inevitable. Our 100,000 square foot project will have a capacity for over 6,000 pallet spaces per 300 truckloads.
A total of 30 dock doors will be built to dispatch over 150 trucks received and shipped one a daily basis. Repack facilities, consolidation opportunities along with improved operational efficiencies will be some of the extra services we will provide. The construction has been designed and planned to meet and exceed our customers’ needs, city and federal agency codes, and regulations in terms of sound structural engineering, employee safety, product quality and freshness but most important food safety.
Our first phase will include 6,000 square feet of office space that will be the new home for our 40 current team members and to the 90 future jobs we anticipate adding with this expansion. Working areas will have all the accommodations needed to contribute to the performance and wellbeing of our employees.
Our goal with our new home is to improve our capacity, efficiency, and to contribute to the development of our coworkers and business partners, and to continue our social responsibility commitment with our Agro For People Program, which centers in maintaining sustainable and entice communities.
Last but not least, I want to acknowledge once again the effort from all our GR Fresh team members who have made this important project possible, congratulations for being part of this new beginning.
Think Fresh! Choose Fresh!
Luis Webb
Vice President for Operations
GR Fresh
