Heartland Produce Co.
5814 104th Ave., Kenosha
Industry: Produce wholesaler
Employees: 214
heartlandproduce.com
Kenosha-based Heartland Produce Co., a family-owned, full-service wholesaler, has been named Business of the Year by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance as part of its Ovation Awards program. The company sells to both independent grocery stores and national chains via its Organic Indeed and Fresh Indeed brands.
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Bill Dietz[/caption]
“We’re in the fresh produce industry so everything we do … the end user needs to enjoy what they purchase from us, and the family has to enjoy having a healthy product,” said Bill Dietz, president of Heartland Produce.
Founded in 1989 in Elgin, Illinois, Heartland Produce officially moved its operations to the Kenosha Industrial Park in 1994. The company is owned by third- and fourth-generation family members. Dietz said from the time the company first moved to Kenosha, the community was welcoming.
In 2021, Heartland Produce broke ground on a new 205,000-square-foot facility within the Greeneway Corporate Park in Kenosha – a massive increase in size from the company’s original 40,000-square-foot location.
Heartland acquired 31 acres of land for the project at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park dog track site in June 2021 for $5.29 million.
The $29 million investment gives the company both a modern distribution facility and room to grow in the future. The new facility was officially finished this spring with all employees moving in May. Heartland has also recently invested more than $1 million to bring new equipment into the facility.
“Our business kept growing consistently every year. For about four or five years, we were pretty maxed out on space. This is something that we had in the works for a while, probably a couple years prior to COVID-19,” said Dietz.
Despite the challenges the pandemic brought with it, the company decided to move forward with expansion plans. Heartland Produce didn’t have as many supply chain issues as other companies but did struggle for some time with the then-skyrocketing freight rates. Dietz said his number one priority was adjusting employee practices to keep workers safe in the middle of a global pandemic.
At Heartland’s warehouse, workstations were re-arranged to be six feet apart and a mask policy was implemented. Employees who did not absolutely need to be at the warehouse were also given the option to work from home.
“The biggest concern was how to keep everyone in the workplace safe and to avoid having a major COVID outbreak in our warehouse,” said Dietz.
Heartland Produce is also actively involved in the Kenosha community. One of its flagship charitable endeavors is the Heartland Children’s Foundation, which was founded in 2014. Through an annual golf outing, Heartland Produce raises money that is then donated to organizations that help children and families. Past organizations to receive the donations have included the Kenosha YMCA, Women & Children’s Horizons and the Shalom Center.
“We raise money for good. I’ve always thought children are our best asset, and it’s the best thing we can do moving forward … to do anything to make them healthy, successful, protected … all of those things that go into a child growing into a successful adult,” said Dietz.
As the company continues to grow, it has also increased its organic produce line. Through the addition of two sleek wrapper machines and a gyro bagger, Heartland can custom package and bag produce through its two brands.
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