Tanimura & Antle's Samantha Cabaluna and Rick Antle Discuss Employees as Family
SALINAS, CA - Tanimura & Antle is a company with deep roots in the produce industry and a connection to the land that is unrivaled. To say that the company is unique, is an understatement.
The Tanimura & Antle family recognizes each of their employees not only as their single greatest asset, but also as family. Recently, the company announced a new era in ownership with the launch of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), giving employees partial ownership of the company, further embedding them in the family tradition.
This next phase in Tanimura & Antle’s story has been exciting for employees so far, as it really cemented the company’s commitment to the employees and local ownership for the long run, VP Brand Marketing & Communications Samantha Cabaluna shares with me.
“We are one of the first grower-packer-shippers in U.S. history to share company ownership with all qualified employees, from the harvest crews to the executives, and that says a lot about the founders’ philosophy toward employees. There are many other examples of that philosophy, too: our harvesters are employees rather than contract labor, we invested in the employee housing at Spreckels Crossing...The list is long. And we all appreciate it,” Samantha says.
It is evident that the private, family- and employee-owned company values its employees above all else, and as T&A evaluated several directions for the next phase of our company, this next step surfaced as the ideal direction to take the ownership.
“From our founding on through to today, we’ve always understood that our employees are our most valuable asset. With the launch of the ESOP, we’re able to ensure that the people who make it all happen every day here at Tanimura & Antle share in the growth they’re creating. It’s gratifying to me that we’ve been able to lay this foundation for our on-going success,” said CEO Rick Antle.
That understanding becomes even more evident in the care the company places in adding the right produce professionals to its family of team members. As we recently reported, Tanimura & Antle recently brought produce professionals Sybil Chapple, Jason Arnaldo, and Amy Voogd Pemberton into the fold to bolster the company's quality, service, and innovation in the marketplace.
Congratulations to the company on this recent success, and the growing family at T&A!
