Lakeside Produce officials held public tours Friday to showcase the new company’s high-tech greenhouse, a massive, 15-acre facility where a variety of tomatoes and mini cucumbers are grown for distribution from Maryland to South Florida.
The 10-month-old business - which required an initial investment of $30 million to install specially designed lighting and countless other features - is part of a growing trend of progressive agribusinesses that have been cropping up in Henderson County the past several years.
Chris Cervini, Lakeside Produce owner and CEO, said Sierra Nevada Brewery, which poured its first craft beer here several years ago and continues to add tap rooms throughout the area, is a perfect example of a new, environmentally conscious mindset that focuses on sustainability.
The company currently has 55 full-time workers, and 45 employees will be added to the payroll during each of two construction phases, he said.
“For every agriculture job we produce, it creates another three jobs in the local economy,” Cervini said, explaining how he arrived at the 300 new jobs figure.
