U.S.-based fresh produce importer CarbAmericas recently inaugurated a new facility in Irapuato, Mexico, in partnership with grower-shipper CarGoldMex. 

The development builds on a deal secured in 2013 between CarbAmericas owners Jeff Friedman and Danny Pollak to partner with Pablo and Elias Chimely Montibeller to develop the company CarGoldMex S.A. de C.V.

In a release, CarbAmericas said since 2014 the company had been a leader in the production, processing and packaging of vegetables in Central Mexico, with a fully vertically integrated operation that ensured quality and traceability throughout the world.

CarbAmericas trades in four continents - North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania - while in the U.S. specifically, imports will come from the new facility to Nogales, Arizona and McAllen, Texas.

CarGoldMex is starting to pack broccoli at the new facility and will process various other vegetables and fruits including asparagus, bell peppers and strawberries at different times throughout the year.

CarGoldMex expects to create hundreds of jobs in the Irapuato and its surrounding areas.

“We are truly excited to start this new endeavor with our partners,” said CarGoldMex CEO Elias Chimely Montibeller. 

"We have worked very hard to get the facility ready for production and now the time has come to supply our customers with our high-quality produce."

As with all the facilities that CarbAmericas is involved with, food safety is at the top of the priority list. CarGoldMex is certified with Primus GFS which includes GMPs and HACCP protocols for its facility. 

Additionally, product is grown on Primus certified farms. Up next for the company is completing its social responsibility certification.

"Any company we support and every project of which we are a part, must pass our standards of quality and food safety," said CarbAmericas president Jeff Friedman.

"CarGoldMex is no different and we are proud of what we have built together with Pablo and Elias in Irapuato. 

"With our innovation-oriented culture and the supply chain efficiencies we can drive from this facility, we see a bright future for this location and the retail customers we support with our Mexican programs."

During industry event PMA Fresh Summit in October, Friedman told www.freshfruitportal.com the new facility involved a US$700,000-800,000 investment, and that the new building covered 30,000 square feet.

"It's built as a packing facility mostly for asparagus. The capacity we have is we’re going to start allowing other growers to come in and we'll do packing for them," he said during the trade fair.

"We also built it to where we might be able to start an IQF (individually quick frozen) facility because what product we can’t send fresh to the U.S. we can take the second grades and start doing IQF programs."

www.freshfruitportal.com