By Pure Flavor
Leamington, ON – With demand for its premium greenhouse vegetables continuing to grow, Pure Flavor® announced recently the investment of more than $105 million USD to build a 75-acre state of the art high tech greenhouse facility & distribution center in Peach County, GA south of Atlanta.
The first crop of Tomatoes-on-the-Vine and Long English Cucumbers will be planted in Summer 2018 to be harvested in mid fall that year.
“We at the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Grown are proud to welcome Pure Flavor® to our great state”, stated Gary W. Black, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner. “I am confident this innovative venture will prove to be a real asset to Peach County and to Georgia’s entire agricultural sector. Pure Flavor® has indeed found the ideal location for this type of operation and I look forward to working with them as they continue to grow and expand”, said Black.
The new greenhouse complex, located just 90 minutes south of Atlanta and less than 3 miles from I-75, will grow tomatoes & cucumbers year-round. Coupled with Pure Flavor’s existing farms throughout Canada, USA, and Mexico, growing in Georgia will further expand the company’s reach along the eastern seaboard as far north as Virginia, west to Texas, and all the way down to south Florida with premium greenhouse grown vegetables.
“The strategic investment in Peach County, GA is one that will not only expand our acreage but also creates opportunities to strengthen & grow our retail & foodservice partnerships across the southeast with Georgia grown vegetables”, said Jamie Moracci, President. Moracci & his partners spent nearly 2 years researching locations across the USA for this expansion. With the Midwest region, already over saturated with a variety of projects and an abundance of product, developing in Georgia with the first significant high-tech build of its kind in the state, is going to be a game changer.
Key Project Facts:
- Location: Fort Valley (Peach County), Georgia – 3 miles off I-75
- Start of the art, high tech 75-acre greenhouse complex
- Built in three (3) phases of 25 acres over 5 years
- Investment: $105 million
- Distribution area: Georgia, Florida, North/South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virgina, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas
- New 75,000 sq. ft. distribution center on site to service the southeast
- Installation of High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting to assist with year-round growing
- Phase 1 commodities: Tomatoes & Cucumbers
- Creating 200+ new year-round job opportunities over 5 years
- Largest facility of its kind in southeastern USA
“Built in 3 phases of 25 acres over the next 5 years, the financial investment we are making further demonstrates our goal of growing our business in a significant region and not looking at the investment as just growing in a state”, said Jeff Moracci, Chief Financial Officer. With a potential reach of nearly 80 million people in less than a 24 hrs. drive, a regionally grown message featuring the Georgia Grown emblem will help leverage the brand with consumers. The first phase of the project of 25 acres broke ground in September.
International greenhouse manufacturer Havecon has been retained to build the facility in Georgia. Using state of the growing systems, Pure Flavor® will have diffused roof glass installed to take advantage of the southern US, nutrient rich sunlight during peak season. Pure Flavor® will also be installing High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights to be used as supplemental energy to help grow through the winter months.
““A leader in the global marketplace, Georgia has become a hotspot for international companies who are looking to expand their footprint in the U.S.,” said Pat Wilson, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Pure Flavor® is taking a highly-specialized, dynamic approach to agriculture that our workforce is well suited to support. With a solid logistics infrastructure and robust network of companies, Pure Flavor® will have all they need to thrive in our state. Congrats to Peach County on this incredible win.”
Under the Pure Flavor® brand, the company grows & markets an extensive variety of greenhouse tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, eggplant, and living lettuce that is grown in Canada, USA, and Mexico. Founded in 2003, Pure Flavor® has experienced significant growth year over year with its expanding product offering. With distribution centers strategically located in Leamington, ON, Detroit, MI, San Antonio, TX, and soon to be Peach County, GA, Pure Flavor® provides year-round availability of premium greenhouse grown vegetables.
“Having Pure Flavor invest in Peach County is proof positive that our community is attractive to newcomers and major international companies’, said BJ Walker, Executive Director, Development Authority of Peach County. “It is confirmation that we possess all of the necessary qualities and assets that are ideal for a business to succeed and grow and we are thrilled and excited to welcome Pure Flavor into the Peach County family!”, said Walker.
“Being strategically located in Georgia with our new greenhouse will enable Pure Flavor® to significantly extend its reach to open more distribution channels along the southeastern seaboard while further supplying existing key retail & foodservice partners across the southern US”, commented Matt Mastronardi, Executive Vice-President.