Emerald Packaging announces retirement of key executive
Union City, Calif.-based Emerald Packaging says James "Jim" M. Kelly, executive vice president, is retiring after 41 years with the company.
Kelly remains an owner of the company, according to a news release.
He began his career at Emerald in 1983 after working for Proctor & Gamble in its management program, the release said. Emerald said Kelly helped to drive sales for the company in the then new fresh-cut produce sector.
Produce packaging has been Emerald’s main market since its inception in 1963, but with the fresh-cut revolution came the need for re-enforcements. As the eldest son of the company founder, James P. Kelly, and having worked at Emerald during the summer for nearly a decade, Jim Kelly was a natural fit to join the company, the release said.
Kelly joined when Emerald was in a 30,000-square-foot building in Berkeley Calif., and sales were $13 million. Today, the company sits in Union City in a 175,000-square-foot building and with sales at $90 million, the release said.
“It has been a wonderful ride,” Kelly said in the release. “It has been fun to grow this company with my family, including our father, my brother Kevin, and our sister Maura. It’s almost inconceivable how large we’ve grown, so far beyond what I imagined possible.
"But, as Neil Young said, ‘comes a time,’" he continued. "I’ve hit an age where I’d like to pursue other parts of my life. I’ll be watching though and cheering."
Emerald said Kelly helped launch the company into the fresh-cut baby carrot market, working with Grimmway Farms to develop films that would extend shelf life. In that process, Kelly helped build Grimmway into one of Emerald’s largest accounts by forging close ties with the company, the release said.
Kelly helped lead Emerald’s charge into fresh-cut salad sector, partnering with suppliers that engineered the films Emerald marketed. He also built on the company’s strength, premade bags for lettuce, cauliflower and celery which helped make Vegetable Growers Supply one of the company’s largest customers, the release said.
“Jim played an integral role in the history of our business,” Emerald CEO Kevin Kelly said in the release. “He was there at the inception of the fresh-cut produce sector, which became our largest market. He knew how to sell, how to form close relationships with people, which helped Emerald get in front of decision-makers and outcompete companies many times bigger than us.”
Jim Kelly also played a role in the bag segment.
“I expected to be out of the bag business 10 years ago. Roll stock seemed to be taking over our market. But he stayed on top of it, and when it didn’t disappear, we were ready to grow,” Kevin Kelly said in the release.
“Thanks in part to [Jim Kelly's] efforts, Emerald has become the dominant flexible packaging supplier to the produce industry,” Todd Somers, director of sales, said in the release. “We are fortunate to have had his skills to help us grow. We have a wonderful sales team in place ready to fill his shoes. It’s great to give younger, non-family members a chance to help move this company forward, which he and the Kelly family have done. I’d like to thank Jim and the family for giving us the opportunity and wish him the best as he moves into the next phase of his life.”
