OFFICE 805 925 2478
SALES 805 925 2585
BONIPAK PRODUCE INC
P.O. Box 5079
1850 W STOWELL ROAD
SANTA MARIA
CALIFORNIA
93456
In the year 2007, Bonipak will be celebrating its 75th anniversary. So much has changed since 1932... technology, equipment and the way we do business just being a few ways. But one thing at Bonipak has always remained the same... a core dedication to quality, service and growth.

Now in our third generation, Bonipak continues to excel in the produce industry. Through conscientious growing practices and state-of-the-art facilities, we're committed to providing the utmost quality produce for our customers and families alike.
We were not always known as Bonipak. In the early 1930's, the Ferini and Ardantz families collaborated on a small sugar beet farm near Guadalupe, California. Milo Ferini and Dominick Ardantz were barely 21 years old, and they had no possible conception that they would be founding an agricultural empire.

In 1936 the families joined the Bonita Vegetable Co-op which eventually became Bonita Packing Company. Sugar beets were replaced with celery and lettuce, and the planting of other irrigated vegetables had begun.

Horses were used to cultivate the fields then, and sharecropping was a popular buzz word. Ferini and Ardantz remember the tough times when the very survival of their small enterprise was in jeopardy. But the early dedication to their efforts had been founded, and the two men perservered.

Broccoli, cauliflower and other leaf vegetables were added to the main commoditites grown and packed. And there was a time, during World War II, that German POW's from nearby Camp Cooke (now Vandenberg Air Force Base) actually worked on the farming crews.

Originally formed by six Santa Maria area growers, the co-op remained intact through the 1940's and 1950's. Ferini and Ardantz reflect that the two major changes in agriculture during that period were modern mechanization and the advent of farming chemicals.

In 1952, Bonita finished a new packing facility located on the outskirts of Santa Maria. At the time, it was equipped with the latest ice-packing equipment. No one then could predict that vacuum cooling would make the facility obsolete almost before it was finished. The packing house would serve the operation for more than 40 years.
Though it was probably not that significant when it happened, the addition of a seventh member to the co-op in the early 1960's proved to be very important for the future of Bonita Packing. That seventh member was Betteravia Farms, the entity formed by the sons of Milo Ferini, Patrick and Milo Jr., and Henri Ardantz, the son of Dominick Ardantz.

Betteravia Farms joined Bonita Packing Company as a full partner in 1962 with the main commodities of the venture being lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and mixed leaf items. The firm moved through the next 15 years successfully but with few outward changes. Most of the growers farmed on the same land they had owned for decades.
In the mid-1970's, some of the original co-op owners decided to pull out to pursue other interests. Ferini and Ardantz, and Betteravia Farms decided to stay in the operation whereby Betteravia Farms bought out the other partners. In 1977, Bonita Packing Company became a private corporation owned by two generations of the Ferini and Ardantz families.

Bonita continued to show growth in business, operations and farming through the next decade. Then in the late 1980's, the third generation of the Ferini and Ardantz families became involved with the company. Robert Ferini, the son of Milo Jr., and Craig Reade, the son-in-law of Patrick Ferini joined Mitch Ardantz, the son of Henri Ardantz, in taking the reins of the company into the future. Today, Robert and Craig oversee Production and Farming Operations, while Mitch heads the Sales and Marketing arm of the company.
In 1995, Bonita Packing Company began marketing all of its products under the Bonipak name. This was both a marketing decision for product recognition, and a clarification decision in that another company, Bonita Bananas, was often confused with Bonita Packing. With a growing national customer base and expansion on all horizons, the switch to Bonipak was a good one. Today the company image, packaging, advertising and promotional materials all reflect the Bonipak logo and are recognized world-wide.
Having total operational control from growing to packing and superior quality produce became a natural for Bonipak. Adding great customer service and cutting-edge technology gave the company the perfect formula for growth. In 1993, a completely new cooling facility was built, which today is the largest of its kind between Los Angeles and Salinas. In 1996, the company began an export division and today services customers in Japan, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Mexico and Canada.

In 1998, Bonipak began a venture into the processing industry. Today, Boni-Fresh, the fresh-cut division of the company supplies the food service industry with numerous commodities from salad packs to cut cilantro, all grown from within. Also in 1998, Bonipak began an endeavor into organic farming. Today they grow and market organic celery, broccoli, cauliflower, romaine, spinach and mixed leaf items to a rapidly growing organic market.


©2005 Bonipak Fine Produce