San Marcos, Texas-based Nabaco has promoted Brenton Field to VP of operations. He has experience in both the produce industry and the U.S. Air Force.
Field came to Nabaco with more than 30 years of experience working in produce, most recently with Chiquita and AgroFresh, and prior roles in the citrus and tomato categories. He has also served in the U.S. Air Force for 30 years, where he was director of JACCE team 1.
In his former role as director of technical sales, Field was instrumental in the development of trial protocols for use of Nabaco’s flagship edible coating NatuWrap on various produce products for growers and packers. He led his team to conduct various trials with grapes, apples, pears, Florida citrus, California citrus and melons to showcase the product’s flexible application either pre-harvest or post-harvest.
When asked about why he chose to join the Nabaco team, Field replied, “As I met with Gary Beall and he explained what his vision is, I got excited about returning to the produce industry while providing the opportunity to help reduce food waste, increase growers’ and packers’ product output and enhance return on their crops.”
Field is excited by the positive industry response, level of grower and packer interest in the product and the company’s trajectory for growth. “Customers are so excited about NatuWrap’s edible character and its ability to be applied in a number of different stages of the supply chain, from the field through the packing houses, to even possibly the store level. There is very little to almost no restriction as to how or when we apply the coating.”
Kevin Frye, VP of sales, considers Field an integral part of the Nabaco team. “Brenton has broad produce knowledge across many commodities and from multiple perspectives, including produce ripening, packing house operations, produce quality, and global transportation. As we commercialize, this experience and knowledge is critical so NatuWrap can be implemented with minimal change to customers’ current operations.”
As VP of operations, Field’s role will expand to include commercialization protocols for growers and packers, so they can apply the coating properly using their own equipment. He will also be part of the integration of USDA and regulatory compliance, product labeling and exports.
