A melon importer’s expansion at a south Florida port should help its importing.
Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Sol Shipping Services Inc., which is connected to Sol Group Marketing Co., signed a five-year agreement to run a 5-acre marine terminal at Port Everglades.
The grower, packer, shipper, importer and distributor of Guatemala and Honduras cantaloupe, honeydews and watermelon has operated seasonally at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based port since the 1990s through another terminal.
The new agreement provides the firm permanent on-port leasehold, according to a Port Everglades news release.
“Port Everglades has played a very important role in the history and development of Sol,” Enda Walsh, president of Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fyffes USA, said in the release. “This deal allows us to plan the continued development of the business in the knowledge that we have secured our position on the port.”
Dublin, Ireland-based Fyffes is Sol’s majority shareholder and also owns 50% of Coral Gables-based banana importer Turbana Corp.
Walsh declined comment outside of the news release.
Sol owns and operates 140,000 square feet of refrigerated warehouse facilities on 15 acres of land, according to the release.
Sol and its related organizations employ 150 people in Broward County support 7,476 Florida jobs, according to the release.
The company brings $651 million in average yearly economic activity including $236 million in personal income plus $21.7 million in state and local taxes, according to the release.
“This new agreement strengthens our relationship with Sol, so they can continue to expand and grow their business right here in Broward County,” Port Everglades chief executive and port director Steven Cernak said in the release.
Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports and a trade gateway to Latin America and Caribbean.
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