TOMRA Food appoints James Lynch for California citrus position

TOMRA Food has appointed James Lynch as area sales manager for citrus in California.

The move follows the appointment last year of Clinton Jeffries to the newly created role of global category director for citrus, according to a news release.

Lynch moves into his new role after five years as a solutions engineer at TOMRA Food, the release said. He will work closely with the other area sales manager for citrus in California, Simon Rhyner. 

Both will also work with Californian customers who grow and pack large stone fruit, according to the release.

"James' can-do attitude, relentless work ethic and desire to put the customer first have rightly earned him the opportunity to take on this new challenge,” Jeffries said in the release. “His understanding of packhouses in general, and specifically citrus and stone fruit line design, will bring immediate value to customers as he works closely with them on new projects and optimization of existing installs."

Lynch said that his background and knowledge will benefit him in his new role.

“As an engineer, I spent many hours in packhouses and worked on various layouts for citrus and stone fruit customers,” Lynch said in the release. “With this technical background, I will be able to help customers in my new role. TOMRA Food sees its relationships with customers as a collaborative process — we want them to be heard and [be] part of the design process."

In California alone, TOMRA Food typically installs up to 200 new lanes at citrus packhouses yearly, the release said. 

TOMRA's integrated postharvest solutions are also widely used by citrus packhouses in Australia, South Africa, South America and Spain, according to the company, and sales are growing in developing markets such as China, North Africa and Turkey.

TOMRA's sharp focus on citrus can help packers maximize yield, lower costs and waste streams, and profitably feed the world, Jeffries said in the release.