American Takii expands to better serve vegetable growers
{Sponsored} American Takii has been operating in Salinas, California, for 34 years. Not much has changed — the company still prides itself on customer service and quality — until recently.
In October 2015, American Takii’s parent company, Takii & Company Limited, Kyoto Japan (founded 1835) invested in quality and customer service and built a new seed processing plant to ramp up seed processing and production in the U.S.
“As Takii and Company Limited expands its global reach due to the growth of its international subsidiary business, the need to have strategic locations to distribute seed becomes more important,” said Steve Wiley, general manager and chief operating officer at American Takii. Salinas fit the bill.
Prior to the construction of the new facility, almost 100 tons of various vegetable seeds were produced in North America and 600 tons were produced in Chile, shipped to Japan for further processing and then shipped back to North and South America for distribution. The new facility eliminates the middleman.
The process starts and stays in Salinas.
Wiley highlighted two primary benefits. “First, we can create a faster turnaround for many varieties we sell here in North America or will distribute in Latin America,” he said. “We finish, process and pack the seeds here and get them out the door quickly.”
“Second is seed quality. We can process more seed more quickly but at a much more precise grading than ever before. The goal is to increase seed germination and seed purity for growers.”
The new facility has increased storage, fewer energy costs, accurate humidity control and modern machinery.
“Our seed dryer represents a change in technology that has been used for many, many years,” Wiley said.
Previously, seeds were removed from the field and rid of moisture using gas-fired dryers. The new facility uses a more efficient process that effectively circulates air through the seed bins and scrubs the air of humidity and moisture. Because moisture is being removed from the seeds as opposed to heat being supplied, the process is more efficient and safer for the seeds. Drying is controlled by a computerized system that shuts down immediately once the proper seed moisture is achieved.
Growers big and small will benefit from the expansion.
Small growers in the U.S. and Latin America demand smaller packages. The new facility allows American Takii the ability to produce various-size packages more efficiently. What about large growers? The company can now move an increased volume to anywhere in the world at the instructions of the mother company.
“We’re trying to provide better services to growers and increase the efficiencies of our distribution network,” Wiley said. The goal is global excellence.
“We will be adding more staff — processing personnel, logistics specialists, customer service representatives and more,” he said. “It’s a modest growth, but it will go a long way in making us more global.”
For more information, visit www.takii.com.
C. 2017 American Takii