Pompano Beach, Florida – AYCO Farms announces the addition of three essential team members to support its growth and expansion. In the last three months, the company has hired Lou Kertesz to lead its melon program, Mike Dickman as Category Manager for greenhouse peppers, and Jason Miller as Key Accounts for all vegetable sales.
A 20 year industry veteran, Lou Kertesz joins AYCO as Melon Category Manager to champion a diverse program of supply from Central America, Mexico, Arizona and California. Formerly a founding member and vice president of Fresh Quest Inc., Kertesz comes to AYCO with great enthusiasm for building a year-round melon program.
“I like the challenge of working with a company that has seen tremendous success in the past 10 years yet is still growing at a fast past,” says Kertesz. “I see in AYCO the opportunity to use my experience in building a service-oriented, quality program. My father was a pacesetter and I look to continue his tradition of changing and revolutionizing the industry.”
Mike Dickman brings 25 plus years of experience in value added and branding to AYCO in his role as Category Manager for Greenhouse Peppers. His goal is to expand the AYCO greenhouse pepper business as well as developing value added items. Before joining AYCO, he was Western Division Sales Manager for NatureSweet Tomatoes.
“The chance to become part of the fast-paced AYCO organization and to help grow this segment is very exciting and appealing,” says Dickman. “AYCO will leverage its well-established expertise and logistics in this new segment of greenhouse peppers. We look forward to offering a line of new packaging and new products for our current and new customers.”
Jason Miller adds new focus and energy to AYCO’s sales team where he will concentrate efforts on avocados and broccoli, items new to the company, as well as expand growth in traditional vegetable products. With 13 years in produce, he was previously broker/importer at All American Farms Inc.
“I am thrilled to bring my experience in imports to help the AYCO team grow even more,” says Miller. “It’s impressive to see how AYCO has grown in such a short time from an office on the Pompano Beach market to a worldwide supplier with a new, state-of-the-art facility. We all share the vision of the type of company AYCO is becoming.”
“AYCO is committed to providing the best quality, service and experience for our customers and we’re making the investment to accomplish that not only in production and technology but also in people,” says Avi Nir, CEO of AYCO. “Our on-going hiring of top industry talent reflects our dedication to building a world-class organization.”
About AYCO:
Florida based Ayco Farms is a vertically integrated producer and importer of a variety of fresh produce products with growing operations in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the U.S. and sales offices in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and McAllen, Texas. Ayco is the largest vertically integrated producer of mini personalized watermelons on the U.S. East Coast and spurred development of the category with its Mini-Me brand.
Source: AYCO
