With three generations at the helm, Titan Farms blends heritage with high-tech harvesting 

As the leading provider of fresh and processed peach products, Titan Farms continues to have ongoing success by staying true to its family values. Founded in 2001, the company thrives under its second generation of leadership. Titan’s President Ross Williams begins: “Titan Farms is a family owned and operated company. We’re the East Coast’s largest peach producer and South Carolina’s largest broccoli, bell pepper, and eggplant grower. We have over 6500 acres of peach farmland and 1000 acres of vegetable crops.”   

Today, the company is completely vertically integrated, meaning it grows, packs and then sells all its products. However, it was a process to get Titan Farms to this point. The history of Titan Farms begins in 1990 with Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr. The Carrs are the company founders and first-generation farmers. Their peach farming operation began in Florida. Soon after, the Carrs moved to a more suitable peach farming climate in South Carolina where Titan Farms would be established.  

Chalmers was hired by Dubose and Sons as general manager. While working as general manager, Chalmers entered into a two-year lease agreement with the owner. Following Chalmers’ initial success with the lease term, he exercised a purchase agreement. Once executed, Dubose and Sons became Titan Farms, and the Carrs became proud owners.  

Fresh and frozen 

Titan Farms began as a family owned and operated company in 2001, and it’s been in the family ever since. Originally, it was 1000 acres of peaches and nothing else. The fresh packing facility was about 25 percent of the size it is today. Chalmers worked hard to grow the farming operation and its facilities. The farm has since added 5500 acres of peach farmland and 1000 acres of vegetable farmland. The facilities span more than half a million square feet covering both fresh and frozen operations.  

Titan Farms delivers fresh produce to clients across the country, and it offers a top-tier range of processed and packaged goods. As Ross details: “We ventured into the processing space back in 2016. This means we’re able to take any off-grade products and convert them into value added consumable goods.  

The processing operation utilizes a quick-freezing process. Then the produce can be used for fruit cups, puree products, and so on. The processing is done through the sister company Palmetto Processing Solutions. This operation is a subsidiary of Titan Farms but functions as an independent entity.      

“When we added the frozen operation, its purpose was to take waste products and convert them into consumable goods. Prior to this we were throwing away 18,000,000 pounds of peaches annually.” As suspected, the strategy was incredibly successful in minimizing waste and enhancing profitability. Ross continues: “There was nothing wrong with the peaches we were throwing out, except for the fact that they were too soft to be sold as fresh products on the retail shelf.”  

Attention to detail 

Today, Titan Farms converts 95 percent of what would have previously become waste material into a value-added edible product. That’s a huge win for sustainability and efficiency. The processed products are incredibly diverse. They are formatted to be used as ingredients in many different finished goods.  

“One of the biggest consumers of our diced peach is our own Fruit Cup initiative, where we produce fresh frozen fruit cups for the USDA school lunch program. On average, we’ll pack around 20 million fruit cups a year for schools across the country. Since it’s not pasteurized or cooked, it qualifies as fresh food and is eligible under the Farm Bill for consumption in schools.”  

The school lunch program isn’t all the facility processes. “We’ve also supplied ingredients to big names such as Tropicana, who used our peach products in probiotic breakfast drinks and similar goods. If you know where to look, you’ll find our peaches in a whole host of consumer products,” Ross explains.  

In the competitive world of agriculture, Titan Farms sets itself apart through determination, and attention to detail. “The key contributing factors to our success are definitely hard work and sheer willpower,” Ross continues. “Throughout the generations, we’ve all been united by a strong desire to grow the business and see it thrive. We’ve developed a way of working that takes even the smallest details into consideration – with us, the Is are always dotted, and the Ts are always crossed.” 

Ross’ personal approach means that even everyday tasks are done to an impeccable standard of quality. He maintains that the small things and the day-to-days of operating a business are key to building the bigger picture. “In paying special attention to even the smallest details, we’re able to create products that have stood the test of time. It’s about doing common things uncommonly well – that’s how we distinguish ourselves from the competition.”  

Family values 

Looking to the future, Ross will continue to remember that first and foremost, Titan Farms is about family. Staying true to its founding values will no doubt continue to steer the company toward success. “For the next three-to-five years,” Ross shares, “we’re looking to continue expanding our operation, growing both the fresh operation and the processing division. We’ll keep family values and the Titan way close to our hearts as we continue. We do not want to lose ourselves even as the business grows.”  

“When I stepped in as President, the one thing I wanted to ensure above all else was that the family was prepared to grow sustainably and manageably. It’s always been very important to me that we never lose sight of the values or people who got us to where we are today,” he concludes.   

www.titanfarms.com