US (AZ): Limoneira announces purchase of packing house operations
Limoneira will use the packing facilities to wash and pack lemons from the Company's orchards in Arizona as well as citrus from other growers in the region. The Company estimates that it will process approximately 500,000 to 600,000 cartons of fresh lemons annually from this facility, generating approximately $400,000 to $500,000 per year in operating income resulting from a combination of cost savings from not shipping fruit to the Company's Santa Paula packing facilities and incremental fruit packing operations.
Alex Teague, Senior Vice President, stated, "We are excited about the acquisition of the Marlin packing assets, which is strategically located near our current farming operations in Yuma. This acquisition will immediately increase our volume and give us increased flexibility in the export markets. Importantly, this also gives us the ability to ship Arizona lemons to China. We expect to benefit from improved operating efficiencies from the new packing house, particularly during the first quarter of our fiscal year."
Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "The acquisition of Marlin packing operations is in-line with our long-term goal to expand our agribusiness. Along with the expansion of our primary packing facilities in Santa Paula, which is on track to be completed next fiscal year, this acquisition will significantly increase our packing capacity. In addition, we continue to evaluate opportunities to expand our total agribusiness acreage through strategic acquisitions."
For more about Limoneira Company, visit www.limoneira.com.