Facility Information

A State of the Art Building

Four Seasons Produce, Inc., the largest independent produce wholesaler in the country, did not start out with the intention of being the first warehouse in the country to be awarded an ENERGY STAR label for energy efficiency – but it happened. Driven by his love of "farm to fork" ideals, David Hollinger began Four Seasons Produce, Inc. in 1976 with a small bank loan supplying just enough to purchase a few trucks, equipment and a 5,000 square foot building in Ephrata, PA. Although the produce company quickly saw profits, that initial small bank loan kept Hollinger and his associates in a constant "where can we be more efficient" mentality. This is the story of Four Season's jump into greener pastures.

Four Seasons Technology

Progressive Thinking and Impressive Technology Make
a Smooth-Running Operation.

In 2004, Four Seasons Produce opened one of the largest produce warehouses in the northeast. This 262,000-square foot facility provides over 190,000-square feet of cold storage, 35 dock doors and the ability to receive railcar loads. The efficiencies created by the new facility and the state-of-the-art operational systems have helped the company move to a new level of customer service.

The Four Seasons distribution center is specifically designed for produce storage. This includes multiple humidity and temperature-controlled areas and separation by ethylene sensitivity – which impacts the rate at which fruit and vegetables ripen. The facility configuration and the placement of rooms allow effective pallet building while achieving the peak of efficiency.

Systems: Fours Seasons' technology begins with our online web-based order processing and tracking system. Customers log onto the Four Seasons website and place orders using a customized order guide. Once an order is submitted, each customer receives an email confirmation and can track the progress of their shipment on the day of delivery.

To maximize the accuracy and timeliness of pallet building and shipments to customers, Four Seasons has a Warehouse Management System (WMS) integrated with voice recognition. This allows order selectors to perform accurately and more efficiently. Because our WMS is configurable, it also matches the way we replenish and cross-dock fresh produce.

The WMS utilizes lot codes to ensure product is properly rotated and released. Lot coding identifies where products are sourced and where they are distributed, in case of a product recall. Product recall information can be accessed in a matter of minutes, not hours.

Equipment: Our production facility houses state-of-the-art equipment, providing customers with a wide range of packaging solutions for both conventional and organic products:

• Three Exact Over-Wrap and Weighing machines capable of over-wrapping both pulp and plastic trays, while applying both customized top labels and bar-coded bottom labels on each package
• Three NEWTEC Citrus Bagging machines that bag citrus fruits both in polyurethane and mesh bags ranging in sizes from #2 to #10
• A Pint Clamshell Filling machine for grape and cherry tomatoes, which also provides customized labeling and bar coding

Four Seasons' production facility can handle large volumes, and includes licensed bagging services for both Sunkist and Tropicana citrus products. We bag various sizes of Navel oranges, Valencia oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit, and we can also facilitate customized packaging. Four Seasons can package both conventional and organic produce under our label and can provide private label programs.

Logistics: Four Seasons' transportation capabilities meet or exceed all U.S. Department of Transportation requirements. We own and maintain our own fleet of 90 trucks consisting of sprinter vans, straight trucks, tractors and trailers, with additional independent contactors for deliveries in our service areas.

Dispatch coverage is round the clock with fleet communication that includes the latest in satellite technology transportation routing systems. We communicate effectively with our drivers in real time to meet our customers' product and delivery specifications. As a result, we can confidently commit to delivery windows, while ensuring a safe and expedient delivery.