Gold Coast New Facility

Gold Coast Packing, Babe Farms Partner on Construction

Oct 10, 2011

Original Article Here by Mike Hornick

Construction has begun in Santa Maria, Calif., on a processing plant and cold storage facility for Gold Coast Packing and Babe Farms.

The Santa Maria grower-shippers will share the 100,000-square foot site in fall 2012 when it’s expected to open, according to a news release.

About 150 employees will operate the plant six days weekly. Gold Coast Packing has a product line of broccoli florets, cauliflower, cilantro, spinach and specialty packs sold for foodservice. Babe Farms, one of Gold Coast’s growers, offers specialty salads and baby vegetables to foodservice. Babe Farms is also a processor and shipper.

Chief executive officers Ron Burk of Gold Coast Packing and Judy Lundberg of Babe Farms attended the Oct. 7 groundbreaking on a 6-acre parcel.

Plans are for 8,000 square feet of office space and 80,000 of cold storage and processing. The balance will be in laboratory and employee facilities. The loading dock is pegged for nine bays.

“We anticipate that we can both increase our production volume by 50% as well as improve turnaround time from the field to our customers’ warehouse,” Lundberg said in the release.

“This building will provide economies of operation that will not only benefit us, but our customers as well,” Burk said in the release.