About Us

GEOGRAPHY
WE ARE LOCATED IN THE MOST PRODUCTIVE TOMATO GROWING REGION IN THE WORLD. The vast majority of the world's tomato production can be found in two narrow bands circling the globe. The area found between the 36-38 parallels in both the northern and southern hemispheres defines these regions. The two regions enjoy long summers and have annual precipitation in the winter. These Mediterranean conditions are ideally suited for tomato production.

Approximately two-thirds of the world's production comes from the northern strip with the balance produced in the south. Geographically, there is more arable land found in the north. But beyond this, the northern parallels enjoy the presence of California's great Central Valley. By itself this region produces over one-third of all processing tomatoes worldwide. While some may suggest there are lower input costs and less regulation found elsewhere, no one can deny California's unique productivity.

California's Central Valley is built upon several unique attributes. Over time the coastal range on the west and the Sierra Nevada's to the east have produced expansive alluvial fans of deep, well-drained soils that are well suited for growing vegetables. These mountains also help maintain stable temperatures providing long dry summers to harvest and process the crops. Most of the State's land is irrigated receiving much of its surface water from the snow pack found in the Sierra Mountain Range.

RESOURCES
Supporting these basic resources of land, water and climate are an enormous investment in both public and private infrastructure. We have land grant colleges and schools of agriculture that provide an abundance of highly skilled recruits. The State enjoys substantial transportation corridors, extensive water projects with dams, reservoirs and aqueducts and strong support industry clusters including equipment manufacturing, trucking, marketing, financing, etc.......

FRESNO COUNTY, THE TOP TOMATO PRODUCER IN CALIFRONIA. Resources typically flow toward their highest and most productive use. The current trend in the California Tomato Industry is a gradual shift from the north to the south-central portion of the Central Valley. Urban encroachment and the profitability of competing crops are also contributing to this move. With that said, the facts suggest that Fresno County enjoys the best of what California has to offer for the growing and processing of tomatoes.

CAPABILITY
We are not the largest processor. While we have scale, we pride ourselves on not having the largest single paste line in the industry. Instead of focusing solely on our cost structure we have invested in separate processing lines to ensure product quality. Our duel processing systems allow us the capability to produce two different types of paste simultaneously and allows for the greatest amount of flexibility in obtaining the correct blend of tomatoes to meet our customer's specifications. Our reputation is not based upon being the most efficient processor to "fill a drum or bin" but that of a quality packer of competitively priced tomato paste.

Copyright © Los Gatos Tomato Products 2002