Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., and grower-owned processor, True Leaf Farms, also based in Salinas, Calif., announced plans to build a new facility in Northern Mexico to increase year-round capacity. 

The 110,000-square-foot plant is situated less than one mile from the international border in San Luis Rio Colorado.

The San Luis plant will employ approximately 250 people, and begin producing whole leaf lettuce, broccoli florets, iceless broccoli and green onions toward the end of 2018.

When completed, the new facility will be unique in that it will handle green onions in a ready-to-eat) facility, elevating the food safety environment in which they are packed from the field.

“We will be feeding this plant with product that we grow from both sides of the border,” says Brian Church, chief executive officer. “The new facility will allow us to produce during the summer months, wherein the past, we were limited to only green onions and other seasonal items. Now, we will be sourcing from Mexico year-round to meet our U.S. customers’ growing needs.”

CB Mexico is CTPAT (Custom Trade Partnership Against Terrorism)-certified, and is also strategically located 29 miles from the company’s two Yuma, Ariz., facilities and loading docks.