This year’s Fresh Summit in Orlando is expected to pull out all the stops, with some 1,300 exhibitors displaying their products on a show floor of more than 330,000 net square feet. Using all our fingers and toes, we figure that to be just about seven football fields, give or take a goalpost or two.
Attendance at the show could well set another record, topping last year’s count of more than 20,000 from the world of produce who gathered in New Orleans.
And onions will again be a major factor, with scores of the Oct. 19-20 expo’s exhibits showcasing or featuring our favorite vegetable.
Looking ahead to next week in Orlando, we asked some of our contributors who’re exhibiting what they’re rolling out and what they’re most eager see and do at PMA Fresh Summit. A new product is coming from Sunset Produce in Prosser, WA. Brenden Kent said that he and his wife, Jenni, and company owner Ryan Munn and his wife, Teresa, will be manning Sunset booth 2837, and he added, “We are excited to be exhibiting at the PMA and looking forward to seeing as many customers in one location that we can.” Along with its many labels, Sunset will be featuring its new SunKissed sweet variety. The photo shown here is Sunset’s Heavenly Sweets showcased at PMA 2017
Sunset’s Heavenly Sweets showcased at 2017 PMA
Volm Cos. at booth 3643 will feature its Volmstack Mini Robotic Palletizing Cell Display, which Marsha Verwiebe said will be operating throughout the show hours. “Another exciting addition to our portfolio this year is the Volmpack 350 Vertical Form, Fill and Seal Bagger,” she said. “Our newly designed packaging displays will include samples of our products showing exactly our printing and converting capabilities.”
Volmstack Robotic Palletizing Solutions
Volm 350 JASA.v2
L&Ms Trent Faulkner told us, “We are looking forward to connecting with our customers this year. We have a whole new look for our ‘Nature’s Delight’ brand, and our whole team at L&M is excited to share it with everyone at the show.” L&M will be in booth 935. The photo shown here is L&M’s Derek Ennis at PMA 2017
Derek Ennis at PMA 2017
And the folks at Eqraft told us they are excited to exhibit at PMA with SYMACH at booth 978, where they’ll be sharing their vision on fully automated onion facilities “with solutions ranging from grading and weighing to packing and palletizing.”
Photo courtesy of Eqraft
Photo courtesy of Symach
Many of OnionBusiness’s longtime contributors will be there with booths, and even more will be at the convention/expo to walk the floor, strengthening existing relationships and establishing new ones. Some of those with booths are Colorado Department of Ag/Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Assoc. (1973), Wada Farms Marketing Group (943), Oso Sweet Onions (1513), Sunset Produce (2837), Columbia Basin Onion (991), Eagle Eye Produce (772-773), Easterday Farms (1479), Bybee Produce (780), Owyhee Produce (144), Potandon Produce (3243 and 3800), RPE (163), Olathe Sweet Corn (1973), Green Giant Fresh (3243), Ray Farms (1313), Keystone Fruit Marketing (3073), L&M (935), Torrey Farms (2703), USA Onions/Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onions (2001), Mesilla Valley Produce (3810), Texas Town (aisles 1600 over to 2600), Volm Cos. (3643), Vidalia Onion Committee (1301), G&R Farms (1401), Volm Cos. (3643), Fox Packaging/Fox Solutions (1801), SYMACH/Eqraft (978), Young Guns (3815), and Mexico Pavilion (aisles 2300-2700). Lots of other shippers/importers and equipment companies as well – PMA is a world unto itself, and we love it there.
Speaking this year are Super Bowl hero Peyton Manning, PMA CEO Cathy Burns, Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Greg Williams, Editor in Chief and Tony Award-winning actor and musician Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie is scheduled to share the stage with MorningNewsBeat’s Kevin Coupe. And speaking at the Women’s Fresh Perspectives Leadership Breakfast will be Olympic Gold Medalist skier Lindsey Vonn.
OnionBusiness.com will be there to report from the show floor, and we welcome your comments and photos!
