Dec. 10, 2009 – Urban Barns Foods (URBF.OB), set to acquire a
leading-edge provider of fruit and vegetables, who “Grow Locally” and can
produce to “Organic Grown” standards, has appointed Jacob “Jack” Benne to its
board of directors as well president and chief executive officer.
Dec. 10, 2009 – Urban Barns Foods (URBF.OB), set to acquire a
leading-edge provider of fruit and vegetables, who “Grow Locally” and can
produce to “Organic Grown” standards, has appointed Jacob “Jack” Benne to its
board of directors as well president and chief executive officer. Benne has a
distinguished 46-year career as a leader in the agricultural industry, most
recently as the CEO and president of Bevo Agro Inc.
“Jack Benne is one of Urban Barns Foods’ greatest assets,”
said interim chairman Dan Meikleham. “He brings vast experience to the board,
and as our president, gives us an unparalleled insight into the industry and
the market on a go-forward basis. he will be a key figure in the board’s decisions,
helping us fulfill our responsibility to our shareholders.”
Benne graduated from the Dutch Agricultural College, in the
Netherlands in 1960 where he established his first greenhouse entrepreneurial
enterprize in 1963. He immigrated to Canada in 1981 and built and managed
greenhouse facilities that eventually grew to the current 34-acre facility
under his leadership. For the last 23 years, he has operated Bevo Farms Ltd.,
which was taken public on the TSX in Canada as Bevo Agro Inc. in 2000. Since
that time, he has served as the president and CEO and built Bevo Agro Inc. into
North America’s leading provider of propagated plants, with annual sales of
more than $16 million (Cdn).
“After growing and shipping tens of millions of seedlings for
the last 23 years,” said Benne, “I am most excited to lead Urban Barns Foods,
which offers me a wonderful opportunity to introduce and implement new farming
technology and techniques. There are numerous ways to reduce the spoilage,
costs, and carbon emissions, and these are simply not available under
traditional or industrial organic farming methods.”
ABOUT URBAN BARN FOODS INC.
Urban Barns Foods, the private company to be acquired by Urban
Barns Foods Inc. (formerly HL Ventures), uses proprietary equipment to produce
affordable fruits and vegetables in a secure and controlled indoor environment.
By setting up subsidiary facilities and growing locally, Urban Barns Foods can
focus on supplying any community, irrespective of the regional climate,
effectively reducing shipping times and related spoilage costs. Urban Barns
Foods has the unique ability to scale and cater to the demands of all major
communities.
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