Ridge Spring, S.C. – Titan Farms, the largest peach grower on the east coast, announced earlier this month its expansion into the fruit and vegetable processing landscape through a new processing facility. The new endeavor comes from uniting their passion for peaches and for sustainability. The operation will be a sister company to Titan Farms under the name of Palmetto Processing Solutions.
The combination of the two companies brings complete control of their supply chain from field to packaging. In 2016 alone, Palmetto Processing expects to process over 10 million pounds of peaches. These will be produced in puree and frozen formats – both individually-quick frozen (IQF) and bulk.
The new company is phase II of an overall expansion that began last year. In 2015, Titan Farms took their quality reputation to the next level and improved their already stellar operations in quality, traceability, food safety and sustainability, which included a cutting-edge-technology packing line. With its expansion into processing, all the same values remain equally as important in the processing space as they are in the fresh produce industry.
“We initially began exploring this opportunity in our quest to be more sustainable as a company,” said Lori Anne Carr, president of Palmetto Processing and vice president of Titan Farms. “Before deciding to proceed in this direction, we explored other options such as renewable energy and composting and found that product line expansion into processing was our best business decision. We truly have a passion for being environmentally conscious in our operations and look forward to continually improving our sustainability.”
“We noticed a shrinking supply of western peaches in the market at the same time the demand for processed fruits and vegetables increased,” said Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Farms. “We are already running the largest peach operation on the east coast and we see processing as a natural fit and next step.”
The company broke ground on the $8 million state of the art processing facility in December 2015 and expects to complete the 65,000 square foot expansion by the start of peach season in May.
About Titan Farms
Based in Ridge Spring, South Carolina, Titan Farms is the premier grower, packer and shipper of over 2.4 million boxes of fresh peaches, broccoli and bell peppers annually. Titan Farms recognizes the importance of sustainable agriculture practices, and uses them to benefit America’s consumers and to protect our country's precious natural resources.