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WP Rawl is constructing a new vegetable processing plant in western Flagler County.

County Commission Chairwoman Barbara Revels, who also serves as chairwoman of the Flagler County’s Economic Opportunity Advisory Council, announced this week that WP Rawl is investing in Flagler County. WP Rawl is a vegetable-growing, shipping and processing company headquartered in Pelion, S.C. The company is constructing a 34,000-square-foot processing facility on County Road 105 off County Road 2006.

Construction is under way on a fully enclosed vegetable cooling and packing facility. Produce will be brought out of the fields, rinsed, chilled and stored in refrigerated rooms until it is ready to ship. The company has a similar operation in Pelion and another facility at a company satellite location in Mississippi.

When complete, it will be the second vegetable packing plant in Flagler County. This new plant will join Hollar and Greene Produce Co., which operates a large vegetable shipping facility at 3258 County Road 305, a few miles from the new plant under construction.

“Agriculture is one of our target industries,” Revels said. “Attracting a company as successful and sustainable as WP Rawl to the county is a real success story.”

The latest Agricultural Census, released in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, listed Flagler County’s market value of products grown and raised in Flagler County at $35.14 million. Flagler's vegetables, including cabbage and potatoes, supply the national market in the winter. Timber and cattle also contribute to the county's agricultural economy.

WP Rawl has had a presence in Florida through contract farming. The Flagler facility will expand its presence in the state. The site will help the company support their customers with product year-round.

“We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our service, and we believe that expanding our operations with this facility in Bunnell will help us do that,” said Ashley Rawl, director of sales and marketing for WP Rawl, in a company release. “Flagler County, and Florida as a whole, has always been of strategic importance for our business. Among other things, this facility will also serve as our distribution hub for the state and surrounding states.”

The new facility is expected to be ready by late spring or the summer of 2013. It is being constructed by Cline Construction.

 

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