A CLOSER LOOK AT
Highland Exchange Service Cooperative - HESCO
Waverly, Florida
Co-op service:
Highland Exchange Service Cooperative is an operating supplies procurement cooperative conducting business in the southeastern United States. All operations are performed from the Florida office located outside Winter Haven and near Cypress Gardens.
Co-op history and changes:
Formed consolidation in 1972 between the Highland Crate Cooperative and the Exchange Supply and Service Cooperative, HESCO operated primarily as a corrugated container broker in Tampa for its member organizations. Since then, HESCO's product offering has diversified from fresh fruit and poultry packaging into an array of items, including mesh and poly bags, safety equipment, apparel, tires, batteries, fuel, lubricants, maintenance and repair parts, citrus chemicals, production and harvesting equipment, janitorial supplies, gift fruit cartons and supplies, and agricultural chemicals.
Service members expect:
As a supply cooperative, it's the cooperative's job to identify members' critical operating supply requirements, negotiate favorable purchasing arrangements, and then order, receive, store and redistribute those supplies as needed. The pricing of HESCO's products originates through negotiations with vendors for volume discounts and appropriate distributorships. These negotiations-generally with more than one vendor for like items-allow HESCO to establish competitive prices to its patrons on a year-round basis and also provide a patronage refund at the close of each fiscal year. The cooperative constantly investigates new products and services' which will generate greater savings for members. Strengths lie in the co-op's financial integrity, in member allegiance, and in staff expertise and enthusiasm.
How does the co-op operate?
Most of HESCO's members are now serviced by 38 staff members from a 75,000-squarefoot warehouse and a 6,000-square-foot office. Shipments from the warehouse represent about 20 percent of total sales, handled by a fleet of seven trucks on regular schedule to member sites in Florida. While the majority of HESCO's current members operate citrus packinghouses or processing plants, its membership also includes other agri-businesses in the southeastern United States.
Who are members?
Membership is accomplished only through 1) application by the interested entity; 2) management screening to determine eligibility; and 3) review and approval by the board of directors. HESCO policy provides for a two-year provisional membership period. Either party may terminate the membership during this period, but HESCO's services and supplies are made available to the member with all privileges of membership, except the right to vote. Upon successful completion of the two years, and on presentation to and approval by the board, the member is accorded voting privileges. Qualified affiliates of the member (i.e., members of the member and majority-owned subsidiaries) are also entitled to HESCO's supplies and services, but without voting rights.
Members include Albritton Fruit Company, Blue Ribbon Citrus Packers, Davis Citrus Management, Dundee Citrus Growers, Florida Select Citrus, Gene's Citrus Ranch, Golden Harvest Packing Company, Gracewood Fruit Company, Gustafson's Dairy Farms, Hale Indian River Groves, Harvey's Groves, Heartland Citrus, Hilliard Groves, Holly Hill Fruit Products, Hunt Bros. Co-op, Indian River Exchange Packers, Lake Placid Citrus Growers, Lake Region Packing, Lake Wales Citrus Growers, Minton Sun, Mixon Fruit Farms, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Orange-co of Florida, Oslo Citrus Growers, Peace River Packing, Riverfront Groves, Sebring Packing, Silver Springs Citrus Co-op, Sun Brite Citrus, Texas Citrus Exchange, The Packers of Indian River, Tuxedo Fruit, Vero Beach Citrus Packers, Waverly Growers Co-op, Winter Garden Citrus Growers and Winter Haven Citrus Growers.
How does the business operate?
Most of the administrative and policy making fictions are coordinated by HESCO management, with an executive committee comprised of nine directors elected by the full board for three-year rotating terms, and with the president presiding as an ex-officio member. Recommendations from the executive committee are presented to the full board for its consideration.