About 65 workers arrived at dawn yesterday for the first day of work at a new though much smaller pineapple company that will allow fresh pineapple farming and packing to continue on Maui.
Haliimaile Pineapple Co. began operations yesterday on 1,000 acres of leased land with some equipment purchased from Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
All workers were former employees of Maui Pineapple, which shut down last week after 97 years in operation. The company laid off about 285 employees and transferred 130 to partner companies.
Yesterday, workers picked more than 41 tons of pineapples in five hours.
"This morning was a real chicken-skin moment," said Rudy Balala, Haliimaile vice president, who worked at Maui Land & Pineapple for more than 30 years. He began talking with Darren Strand, a former Maui Pineapple operating director, about running their own operation a year ago.
"Our thing is trying to run as lean as possible and have everybody involved in the operations," Balala said. "We want everybody to be cross-trained."
Because volume is much lower than Maui Pineapple’s, the company needs a small crew that can do everything, he said.
Some workers who haven’t picked pineapple for more than 10 years were picking pineapple yesterday, Balala said.
"Everybody wants this company to succeed and they’re really showing it, especially on the first day," he said.
Tomorrow, all employees will go to Kahului to train and pack pineapples.
"There were a lot of smiles, a lot of happy people," said Doug Schenk, a shareholder in the new company. "A lot of people raring to go."
Fresh, whole Maui-grown pineapple will not be a relic of Hawaii’s past after all.
The World knows that Maui produces the BEST Pineapple! Click for larger imageA consortium of Maui-based investors on Thursday announced the formation of Haliimaile Pineapple Co. Ltd., a new company that would immediately continue farming and harvesting the sweet and juicy fruit on 1,000 acres of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. land.
By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer Modern Heros rescue Pineapple industry CLICK for larger imageAfter a century in agriculture, Maui Land & Pineapple Co. got out of the pineapple business for good as 2009 drew to a close.
About 285 workers lost their jobs when pineapple cultivation ended, but the shutdown was just the culmination of a long year of changes for a company struggling just to stay in business.
Early in the year, the company sold its Plantation Golf Course for $50 million to pay down some of its mounting debts. In February, ML&P eliminated 100 jobs at the Kapalua Resort and at its Kahului headquarters in yet another round of layoffs, with the remaining employees taking a 10 percent pay cut. Then in May, President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Webber resigned after just six months on the job, being replaced by board Chairman Warren Haruki as interim CEO.
The company continued to lose money through the year, reporting in October that it had lost $92.9 million in the first three quarters of 2009 – greater than the $71.6 million it lost for all of 2008. Much of the losses was attributed to the plummeting value of ML&P’s real estate investments, and the October report also revealed that the company had lost all of the money it had originally invested in its Kapalua Bay Holdings venture.
Still, nobody was quite ready to hear the news in November that the company was shutting down its pineapple operations.
A group of former Maui Pineapple Co. executives have teamed up with the owner of Ulupalakua Ranch to take over some of the pineapple operations of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
Pineapple is BACK! YES, YES, YES! CLICK for larger imageML&P had announced in November that it would close its pineapple division after nearly 100 years of plantation-scale farming on the Valley Isle. The company last week harvested its final pineapple crop.
The new company, Haliimaile Pineapple Co., will continue to grow and market fresh pineapple under the established Maui Gold Brand, although on a smaller scale. The company said yesterday it will hire back 65 former Maui Pineapple Co. workers and farm about 1,000 of the 3,000 acres that were previously cultivated.
"We’re thrilled to be doing this," said Doug Schenk, former Maui Pineapple Co. president and member of the new management team.
"Maui Gold pineapple is a variety that no one else has. We knew that there was huge demand for it," said Schenk, who left Maui Pineapple in 2001.
Haliimaile has purchased and licensed key assets, and leased farm land, equipment and buildings from ML&P.
The other principals in the new company are Pardee Erdman, owner of Ulupalakua Ranch; former vice presidents of Maui Pineapple Doug MacCluer and Ed Chenchin; and the current operating directors for Maui Pineapple, Darren Strand and Rudy Balala.
Erdman will be the majority owner. The group brings more than 150 years of combined expertise in growing and packing premium pineapple on Maui, the company said.
"We are proud to continue the 100-year legacy of pineapple on Maui," said Strand, president and CEO of the new company.
"Haliimaile Pineapple Co. brings new hope for a new year by immediately saving 65 agricultural jobs with an expectation of adding more in the future."
Valuable agriculturable jobs rescued CLICK for larger imageJanuary 1, 2010 marks a new day for pineapple production on Maui, as a team that includes five former Maui Pineapple Company executives assume operations of Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc.
The five join Ulupalakua Ranch’s Pardee Erdman in running the newly named Haliimaile Pineapple Company, Ltd. The new company will officially assumes operations tomorrow, January 1, 2010 and will continue to grow and market fresh pineapple under the established Maui Gold® Brand.
HPC has purchased and licensed key assets, and leased farm land, equipment and buildings from ML&P with plans to serve the Hawaii market.
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“We are proud to continue the 100 year legacy of pineapple on Maui,” said Darren Strand, president and CEO of the new company.
“Haliimaile Pineapple Company brings new hope for a new year by immediately saving 65 agricultural jobs with an expectation of adding more in the future,” said Strand.
Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares responded to the announcement this afternoon saying, “I am extremely grateful to the company for their commitment to continue Maui Gold pineapple on Maui. I was excited to hear that nearly 70 employees will retain jobs associated with Haliimaile Pineapple Company and I’m confident that the new company will find success.”
“The company founders, shareholders and directors are to be commended for their work in making this happen. Since first learning about this effort, I’ve been very excited about the possibilities. The fact that jobs are saved and pineapple farming continues is absolutely great news for our county,” said Mayor Tavares.
Governor Linda Lingle also welcomed the news saying, “I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year than with preservation of 65 agricultural jobs and the prospect of creating more jobs for our residents in the long-term. The new company and the ongoing cultivation of pineapple on Maui will help stimulate our economy and also inject a boost of confidence in what has been a challenging year.”
Key shareholders and directors in the new company include Pardee Erdman, owner of Ulupalakua Ranch; Doug Schenk, former president of Maui Pineapple Company; former vice presidents of MPC, Doug MacCluer and Ed Chenchin; and current operating directors for MPC, Darren Strand and Rudy Balala. The group brings over 150 years of combined expertise in growing and packing premium pineapple on Maui.
HPC will consolidate its plantation, fresh fruit packing facility, cold storage, and shipping operations in Haliimaile to maximize efficiency and product quality. Company officials say they will continue to provide the highest quality of fresh pineapple to local hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets while increasing its direct consumer business.
ILWU Local 142 Maui Division Director, Willie Kennison said, “We are grateful to Haliimaile Pineapple Company for saving these jobs to make this a happy New Year for so many Maui families.
In a news release today, company officials said they would hire existing ML&P employees and the ILWU will continue to represent the company’s workers.
ML&P Chairman and Interim CEO, Warren H. Haruki said, “We are gratified to see the continuation of pineapple farming on Maui. The new company’s simplifie3d business model and targeted local market, along with the flexibility and cooperation of the ILWU are key ingredients for their future success,” Haruki said.
New pineapple company to rise from ashes of Maui Land subsidiary
By Star-Bulletin staff
POSTED: 01:32 p.m. HST, Dec 31, 2009
Pride in Island! Pineapple on Maui FOREVER! CLICK for larger image
A group of Valley Isle residents plans to start operating a new pineapple company tomorrow to serve whole fruit customers of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
The last pay day for Maui Land’s subsidiary Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd. was today.
The new business Haliimaile Pineapple Co. has purchased some of Maui Land’s pineapple equipment and leased 1,000 acres with an option of leasing more land, said Doug Schenk, one of the investors.
Schenk, an investor and a former president of Maui Pineapple Co., said the new company will be employing about 68 people, including about 60 who formerly worked at Maui Land and were ILWU members.
A group of Valley Isle residents plans to start operating a new pineapple company tomorrow to serve whole fruit customers of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.
The last pay day for Maui Land’s subsidiary Maui Pineapple Co. Ltd. was today.
The new business Haliimaile Pineapple Co. has purchased some of Maui Land’s pineapple equipment and leased 1,000 acres with an option of leasing more land, said Doug Schenk, one of the investors.
Schenk, an investor and a former president of Maui Pineapple Co., said the new company will be employing about 68 people, including about 60 who formerly worked at Maui Land and were ILWU members.
