Mucci Farms, a vertically integrated greenhouse farming company based in Ontario, is adding two new U.S. facilities – one in Romulus and one in Texas. The Romulus location will be 66,300 square feet and service the Midwest and Northeast U.S.
“This location will help us pack, repack, and distribute our full lineup to the region in a timely manner,” says Gianni Mucci, vice president of operations. “Romulus is a great location for us as it allows us to avoid wait times at the border and quickly redirect product to several states.”
With Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, along with neighboring Willow Run Airport in Van Buren Township and Ypsilanti Township, in addition to access to freeways and rail lines, Mucci Farms has multiple logistics offerings to choose from.
The company is working to add new locations to increase efficiencies and service more regions. Both facilities will be equipped with state-of-the-art automation and technology.
“Not only will we be able to service a larger area of the United States, we will significantly reduce our carbon footprint and food mileage, which will serve retailers and consumers with high quality fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on environmental responsibility,” says Mucci.
The Texas warehouse will be a 54,000-square-foot facility located in San Antonio and will help the company service southern states.
“The San Antonio area has a population of 2.5 million people, and the labor market is particularly experienced in produce,” says Ronnie Alvar, director of operations. “This helps us onboard a knowledgeable team of people that understand the nuances of the produce industry and can efficiently manage the supply chain.”
The warehouse is equipped with a featured in the loading docks that allows trucks to back into the warehouse in a way that doesn’t break the cold chain. The doors open in the pre-cooled loading dock, so the company can preserve product quality with no temperature fluctuation when transferring products from the trucks to the warehouse.
Mucci Farms’ first U.S. project is in Huron, Ohio, and is a 75-acre greenhouse and warehouse operation. It is being built in three 25-acre phases, and the first phase has been harvesting and servicing retailers since 2018. Phase two is currently under construction with a goal to harvest its first crop this fall. The project is equipped with grow lights, allowing for local production all year.
The company has grown fresh produce for more than 60 years. Through a global partner network, it has more than 1,700 acres of lettuce, tomato, pepper, cucumber, and strawberry farms in Canada and the U.S.
