Since Progressive Produce LLC established itself as a Los Angeles-based grower-packer-shipper in 1967, the company has honed its expertise in the cold storage arena, dealing with products ranging from potatoes and onions to asparagus and chili peppers and myriad other fruits and vegetables.
When the firm acquired a 120,000-square-foot cold storage facility in nearby La Mirada about eight years ago, it decided to open it up to third parties, said Oscar Guzman, vice president of marketing and sales.
“We talked with multiple growers, packinghouses and small, local supermarkets and saw that there was a need in this area for efficient cold storage,” he said.
“We’d been in business for over 50 years, so we definitely knew what it took to receive shipments and keep the cold chain going,” he added. “We’d been doing it for ourselves for so long that we finally got to the point where we were very comfortable offering that service to others.”
The move meant the company, which was used to dealing with dozens of assorted fruits and vegetables of its own, had to expand its expertise to include different items its customers offered, such as melons and pineapples.
The facility has many amenities that anyone in need of a cold storage facility should be on the lookout for, Guzman said, including:
- Three temperature zones, including an ambient temperature area to accommodate a wide range of fruits and vegetables.
- Comprehensive remote monitoring for temperature.
- A digital check-in system that allows products to be tracked for food safety purposes.
- Daily inspections.
- A state-of-the-art warehouse management system.
- Constant rotation to ensure riper fruits and vegetables are shipped before the newest ones.
- Eight loading doors to enable trucks to load and unload quickly.
The company complies with the latest food safety rules and traceability requirements, Guzman said.
“Food safety has become especially important lately, and we are transparent about everything we do,” he said. “We like to have all our T’s crossed and I’s dotted.”
Changes have been implemented over the years to keep up with current industry standards, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the customer service, Guzman said. Staff is always ready and willing to advise third parties on good cold storage practices, he said, though most already are well-versed on what their needs are.
Transportation is an important part of maintaining the cold chain, and Progressive’s Pathfinder Logistics company enables customers to keep the cold chain intact before and after their product arrives at the cold storage facility, Guzman said.
Refrigerated big rigs can pick up a load, consolidate a load, add something to it or just take it to or from the facility, he said. All trucks are equipped with temperature controls that can be monitored remotely, a feature he said is a must for today’s trucking operations.
Another item on a checklist for anyone seeking a dependable cold storage operation should be organic capabilities, Guzman said.
“We are an organic house as well,” he said, referencing the company’s certification through California Certified Organic Farmers.
