About VCPG
Visalia Citrus Packing Group (VCPG) a licensed commercial shipper of Sunkist Growers, Inc. is one of California's largest, most progressive and successful citrus producing and packing organizations - located in California's fertile San Joaquin Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. VCPG packs fruit from nearly 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares). So successful has VCPG been since its beginnings in 1945 that it now operates three major citrus packinghouses and owns more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of citrus orchards.
VCPG provides a broad range of services to citrus growers: custom farming, citrus production support, harvesting and hauling, processing, packing and shipping. This ensures that VCPG maintains the highest possible quality and yield from every crop.
VCPG provides the most comprehensive grove-to-market services available. The professional management and staff at each packinghouse have the expertise that comes only from years of experience. They provide the services necessary to grow and pack citrus fruit to meet the individual demands of each customer.
VCPG's three medium-sized packing houses are large enough to justify the most technologically advanced equipment for efficient operation, yet still small enough to be flexible to meet market demands.
VCPG packinghouses continually incorporate all the modern processing technologies such as the state-of-the-art Sunkist electro-optical sizer which sorts fruit faster and more accurately than the more commonly used mechanical sizers; the automated Sunkist Gold Rush color and blemish grader which electronically grades each piece of fruit by color and blemish, and the Sunkist developed high pressure wash system which provides both superior fruit cleaning and effective scale pest removal.
On the packaging end, VCPG packinghouses have the Sunkist "Soft Touch" Pattern Packer which has revolutionized the packing of oranges, carefully and uniformly. Computer controlled automated bagging systems first accurately weigh each piece of fruit, then fill each bag to proper weight before sealing. Pre-coolers bring packed cartons to the correct temperature for transporting and maintain that temperature until shipment.