Peter and David Truitt purchased the cannery operation in 1973, bringing with them a family heritage of food processing. This transaction would mark the end of corporate ownership and usher in an era of cooperation, innovation and teamwork.

Peter Truitt was 26 years old when he and his brother David, 29, took ownership of what was one of the last vestiges of a Consolidated Foods Corp. conglomerate. What the Truitts lacked in life experience they made up for with prodigious energy and optimism and a fair share of naiveté.

As the brothers got their feet on the ground, one of their obvious first tasks was to learn about their customers. Peter, donning the sales hat, began to hear from the customers --frequently and fervidly ­ about the state of their produce. The customer feedback became their literal and figurative wake-up call to quality

Putting out a high-quality product became paramount and a determining factor for every decision made regarding the cannery operation. By the end of the 70s, the entire cannery had been reconfigured. The pear packing line received a major overhaul. Pears were, for many years, trundled through the line in dishpans. Peeled, trimmed and sorted and then placed in racks and moved to canning line, the pears took their trip via metal dishpans that were eventually emptied into cans. This arduous process was streamlined when the entire line was gutted and automated as the 80s rolled around ­ the dishpans became a cannery antique of sorts. In addition to the numerous physical changes taking place at Truitt Bros., the less tangible shifts were just as potent, as a whole different attitude permeated the cannery.

Changes were happening further afield, as well. The green bean growing community was represented by a growers association that negotiated to establish a price that applied to both processor and grower. It was an adversarial situation that kept grower and processor at the mercy of the ups and downs of the market.

David worked to establish individual relationships with their bean growers and Peter did the same with the customers. David worked out a plan to pay the grower a percentage of the harvest up front. After determining a fair market price for both, they would pay the grower a balance in the spring. This arrangement shielded both grower and the Truitts from the volatility of the market. As Peter puts it, “We share the good times and the bad.”

“The 1970s were indispensable for us and what I look to as a crucible on which a lot of our convictions were formed,” Peter relates. “Those convictions bespoke quality. From here, everything else followed. Other processors looked askance at us, assuming we would be gone in 6 months, and this year will mark our 34th year in the business.”

The barometer of how the company was doing shifted slowly, and at times, imperceptibly. Yet, Peter and David knew they were on the right track. Consistent, positive feedback from their customers led to a growing demand for Truitt Brothers products.