Jan. 11, 2011, San Miguel Duenas, Guatemala – Ecke Ranch has launched a major expansion to its farms in Guatemala. Due to the success and expansion of products and the closer relationships with customers, the company is in need of additional offshore capacity and is building a new farm to support this demand.
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Work began in December 2010. PHOTOS COURTESY ECKE RANCH
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“Farm Three adds new capacity to satisfy demand in several key crop areas,” notes chief operating officer Steve Rinehart. The initial phase will cover approximately 250,000 square feet. The new farm is adjacent to Farm One, and allows for excellent efficiencies of scale and management functions. “We will have site growers on the new farm, but the overall management can be done from Farm One, which capitalizes on the long and successful history of producing high-quality products.”
Ecke Guatemala is in its 14th year of operation, and has won numerous awards for quality, productivity and sound management practices.
“We have developed this wholly owned company to be an integral part of our success,” explains company president Andy Higgins. “Our team has done an outstanding job planning and executing quality, high volume production. This expansion further complements our core competencies in production and support of our grower customers.”
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| Ecke Ranch president Andy Higgins tours the project with Byron Calderon,
general manager of Ecke Geraniums S.A., in San Miguel Duenas,
Guatemala. |
Ecke believes that further industry concentration necessitates the need for larger, fully-integrated offshore facilities capable of servicing the needs of large growers. “Smaller, non-integrated offshore producers may have a tough time competing in the future as the bar is constantly being raised by the supply chain,” adds Higgins.
Paul Ecke III, owner and CEO, is excited to be back in expansion mode, and is confident that this space will be put to good use in the summer 2011 shipping season. Additionally, half of the poinsettia ranges in Guatemala will be re-covered with new plastic to raise light levels and help increase overall quality.
Ecke Ranch has over 5.4 million square feet of company-owned and contracted greenhouse space offshore.
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