Paramount Citrus Announces Acquisition of UniMark Citrus Groves Back To Press Releases
DELANO - 03/25/2008 - Paramount Citrus Association expanded its citrus acreage by nearly one third with an announcement today that it is acquiring the assets ofThe UniMark Group's (UNMG.PK) Mexican affiliate, Grupo Industrial Santa Engracia S.A. De C.V.
The acquisition adds about 6,000 additional acres on two properties planted primarily with lemons for fresh markets in North America and processed markets worldwide.
Paramount Citrus is the largest integrated grower, packer and shipper of fresh citrus in the U.S. with 20,000 acres of citrus. The company also farms and packs 10,000 acres of citrus owned by grower clients. "This is a move to meet customer demand with a consistent supply of fresh, high quality lemons," said Paramount Citrus President David Krause. "It assures consumers a more consistent year-round supply of lemons," said Krause.
Paramount Citrus will bring what Krause calls a "best in class food safety" program to its new Mexican operation, ensuring strict quality control of the entire production process from tree to customer. According to Krause, Paramount Citrus is at the forefront of progressive agriculture growing teclmiques, and its packing facilities employ the latest technologies and procedures to ensure the highest quality product goes into each box of fruit.
"We are well positioned to continue investing strategically in the needs of our customers and their end consumers," Krause said.
For more information, please visit www.paramountcitrus.com.
About Paramount Citrus
Paramount Citrus operates the largest orange and lemon packing facility in North America in Delano, California. Built in 1999, the facility has cutting edge grading and packing equipment. With this plant and its plant in Visalia, California, Paramount Citrus can process up to 15 million cartons (300,000 tons) of citrus annually, which are shipped throughout North America and the Pacific Rim.
The majority of packinghouse throughput is from Paramount's own groves, assuring the packinghouse of a steady source of quality citrus to pack and sell and enabling the company to efficiently manage the operating time of the various packinghouses. Paramount Citrus has earned customer loyalty due to the consistent freshness and quality of its citrus as well as its commitment to customer service and food safety.
In 2004, the company began shipping its best-selling Clementine mandarins under its California Cuties (TM) brand. The company is now the largest Clementine grower in the U.S.A. and continues to grow.