In Modesto, about an hour and a half to the east of San Francisco in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Ratto Bros. grows 40 different types of leafy and root vegetables. Nearly 1,000 acres of farmland produce a rich and varied harvest of savoy cabbage, kale, leek, celery root, beetroot, kohlrabi and much more. In the area where the herbs are packaged, the air is filled with the fresh aroma of mint, basil and coriander.
Each day, up to 12,000 packages leave the site for delivery to customers which include major US supermarkets such as Safeway and Kroger. Ratto Bros. uses a fleet of 15 forklifts and 20 hand pallet trucks manufactured by Linde to execute this impressive feat of logistics.
Currently in the hands of its fourth generation of expert vegetable farmers, Ratto Bros. is a family-owned business. Running it in an ecologically sustainable way is a core principle of Ratto Bros. and, according to operations manager Anthony Ratto, the choice of forklift brand is an important element of this strategy.
“Linde’s technology helps us pursue a sustainable farming model,” he says. “To me, sustainability involves a range of things, and one of them is using our production resources, such as water, soil and energy, in a responsible way.”
The electric forklifts and pallet trucks are primarily used in its 70,000-square-foot cooling and packing facility, with the batteries charged by the company’s own solar farm.
With the help of Linde equipment, Ratto Bros. is able to achieve its goal “to meet and exceed the demands of its corporate customers while retaining the values of hard work, high-quality products and lasting relationships.”
Has your company benefited from using a Linde forklift? We’d love to hear about it. Submit your photos of our trucks at work to marketing.na(at)kiongroup.com
