Los Angeles, CA and Greencastle, PA — Progressive Produce LLC (“Progressive”) and Keystone Fruit Marketing, Inc. (“Keystone”) announce today that the trade and business assets of Keystone have merged with Progressive. Marty Kamer, President of Keystone, will now be an owner in the Progressive management interest controlled by President Jim Leimkuhler and Vice Presidents Victor Rodarte and Jack Gyben. Marty Kamer will continue in his role as President of Keystone, a division of Progressive. It was also a year ago today that Total Produce plc acquired a majority interest in Progressive.
Keystone, founded in 1977, specializes in sweet onions, hybrid onions, asparagus, peaches, apples and watermelons with offices in Pennsylvania, Florida, Washington, Texas, and California. Marty Kamer has been its President since the untimely death of former President Kurt Schweitzer in February 2016.
Jim Leimkuhler noted, “Our 50th Anniversary is 2017 and our positive momentum will be accelerated by combining our successful business with another great business in Keystone. Keystone is also a proud company with 40 years of growth, and brings quality brands, great people and geographic breadth to the growing Progressive family.”
“We have compatible business values and we expect that the combination of our two companies will be very positive,” said Leimkuhler.
Marty Kamer stated that the merger with Progressive is perfectly timed for Keystone. “We are already an international company with our Mayan® Sweet Onion program from Peru and Mexico, plus our asparagus grower base and acreage in Peru adds an important dimension. We are excited about expanding our global footprint as part of Progressive and we anticipate future growth in our business in the coming years,” added Kamer.
The Progressive ownership team, including Leimkuhler, Rodarte and Gyben, are all very enthusiastic about the merger. Jack Gyben commented, “We have great respect for Marty and his team as people and business professionals. This transition should be smooth and dynamic, and the future development possibilities are exciting!”
Progressive Produce LLC has its main office in Los Angeles, CA. It specializes in conventional and organic lines of asparagus, potatoes, onions, citrus and Hispanic fruits and vegetables. The largest product of the combined company will be asparagus under the AMERICAS® label.
Source: Progressive Produce
