About Us

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OVERVIEW - Click to read more
HISTORY - Click to read more
SERVICES - Click to read more
PROCUREMENT - Click to read more
ORGANICS - Click to read more

OVERVIEW
Thorough understanding... the perfect catalyst

As a leader in supplying deciduous and citrus fruit to North American business partners 365 days of the year, Fisher Capespan represents producer and export partners in South America, Australasia, Europe, Mexico and the USA.

Our solid partnerships with many of North America's leading retailers, coupled with a thorough understanding of market operations, make us the perfect catalyst to cement lasting producer/retailer relationships. This is central to our business philosophy. Given our foundation of expertise, global reach, a strong relationship network, good information and dedicated people, we ensure that market shifts don't create disruption for our producer and business partners.

With the latter being our passion and priority, we continuously align producers with like-minded business partners to structure symbiotic relationships. In essence, our perspective is beyond fruit - we manage and deliver maximum value to all partners.

The head office in Montreal handles sales, marketing, finance and information, while the Philadelphia office deals with operations, quality assurance and client service. We also have alliance partners on the USA West Coast.
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COMPANY HISTORY
Fisher Capespan can trace its origins to the Montreal Fruit Terminal and Bonsecour Market, when David and Louis Fisher founded a small Canadian fruit and vegetable company in 1912 called Fisher Brothers Sales Inc. Its primary focus in the early years was to service wholesalers who were short of product and deliver to stores in the city and surrounding areas that did not have their own buying arm.

The company showed modest growth between the two World Wars. In 1949 Art Fisher (David's son) joined the family business and soon became passionately involved in the affairs of the company.

As North America rebuilt its economy post the Second World War, numerous opportunities presented themselves to Fisher Brothers. From 1951-1959, Fisher Brothers grew from a small regional wholesaler to a national supplier of fresh produce by adding an import arm to the business. The first venture in sourcing product outside of Canada was the importation of items from Florida and California. This laid the foundation for the global business the company is today.

In 1959, Fisher Brothers was approached by the 'South African Citrus Exchange' to start the importation of 'Outspan' oranges into Canada. Based on the success of that project, the Deciduous Fruit Board followed suit and requested the company to handle 'Cape' deciduous fruit into all of North America Very soon the retail trade in both Canada and the USA came to recognize the excellent quality of product associated with these brand names and the level of service Fisher Brothers offered its client base. Soon the company’s reputation attracted interest from other supply sources and so product from France, Israel, Morocco, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay was added to the portfolio on offer.

After an association of forty years with the South Africans, Capespan S.A. entered into discussions with Fisher Brothers about a more permanent arrangement than the agency relationship that had been in place over that time. Agreement as to the type of arrangement that would be acceptable to both parties was reached at the end of 1999 and in January of 2000, a true partnership was formed between the two organizations in the name of Fisher Capespan. In 2004 Art Fisher retired from the company and Capespan took up a majority shareholding position in Fisher Capespan. The head office remains in Montreal and a U.S. office is located in the Philadelphia area.

Today Fisher Capespan is one of the most prominent importers of deciduous and citrus fruit into North America. In addition to imports, Fisher Capespan now has partnership and supply arrangements with domestic producers in order to supply the trade with its key products on a twelve-month basis.
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SERVICES
Admirable dedication... clockwork delivery

Trucking
Our dedicated team of transport professionals is always ready to roll with timeous delivery of our product to the distribution facilities. Whether the need is for one pallet or a full load, Fisher Capespan is committed to cost-effective pricing, utilizing only carriers that meet stringent quality standards. For assistance contact John Bondyra at telephone (514) 739-9181.

Shipping
Capespan is the only marketer of fresh fruit in South Africa with sufficient volume to lease its own vessels. As such, we can use available space for other importers or exporters at economical rates. Contact Cape Reefers at http://www.capereefers.co.za/ or call telephone: +27-21-9172934.

Cold Storage
As one of North America's largest importers of fresh fruit, Fisher Capespan has amassed considerable experience in cold storage availability in and around the major ports of discharge. Because many of these facilities are used continuously, we can help business partners place their fruit in secure cold storage at short notice. Contact Stephen Stackhouse at telephone 1-856-7420242.

Product Insurance
Fisher Capespan is adept at arranging cargo insurance for exporters who prefer to leave this headache to the importer. Also, our expert claims department will gladly assist in the resolution of any claims that might arise. Contact Mark Greenberg at telephone (514) 739 9181.

Specialized Packaging
Business partners needing specialized packaging formats to suit the unique requirements of their customer base need look no further than Fisher Capespan. We provide a solution for even the most complex specifications. Contact the sales department at telephone 514- 739 9181.

Quality Assurance
The hands-on quality assurance personnel are wizards at managing fruit quality and storage protocols throughout the year in Philadelphia, Wilmington and Montreal. Contact Stephen Stackhouse at telephone 1-856-742-0242.

Advertising & Promotional Support
To assist our business partners in building profitable deciduous and citrus product lines, we have a number of support measures. These range from attractive point-of-sale material to give-aways and store sampling programs. Contact Andrew Southwood at telephone (514) 739 9181.
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PROCUREMENT
Reliable and resourceful... only the best

While Fisher Capespan specializes in three core product categories (grapes, pome fruit and citrus) to its customers year round, it has also built up experience over the years in the importation, sales and management of stone-fruit, melons and speciality items (figs, dates, berries, cactus pears, etc.). As a globally connected company, product is sourced from around the world.

South Africa
Because South African products are significant in our portfolio, Fisher Capespan has an office in Cape Town. This facilitates meeting fruit quality and program commitments.

With the well-known Cape and Outspan labels, We're known as a reliable supplier of quality product. And as production volumes grow and plantings of new varieties develop in South Africa, we can deliver the best and widest range of grape and citrus products to our North American partners.

Namibia
Given the proximity of Namibia to the main seedless grape growing region along the Orange River in South Africa, the main focus for Fisher Capespan in this Southern African country is seedless grapes.  With production in Namibia on the rise and producers looking at widening their portfolio of global markets, Canada and the USA will benefit from this diversification in future years.

Chile
We've operated in this country since 1983, building a network of relationships with some of the most innovative export companies and producers. The key items that Fisher Capespan sources are grapes, stone-fruit, pome fruit, clementines, minneolas, oranges and lemons, allowing the company to be active in Chile year round.

Our delivery starts with the earliest grapes from Copiapo in late-November and continues until the last grape arrivals in late-April. The important table grape program, when combined with peach and nectarine programs, extend from December through April and apple and pear arrivals from early February through July. Thus, we deliver a full range of counter-seasonal deciduous fruit.

Peru
While Fisher Capespan has been active in sourcing grapes from Peru since 2003, it has made major strides in the citrus category since fruit from this source was permitted access to the US market in 2006.  During 2007 Fisher Capespan was a leading receiver of satsumas, minneolas, clementines, navels and tangerines. With new citrus varieties coming into production in the years ahead, Fisher Capespan expects its share of Peruvian citrus to continue growing.

Argentina
Fisher Capespan has been active in the pear deal for many years in Argentina.  Despite the many difficulties associated with doing business from this source in recent years, Fisher Capespan remains committed to building on the pear programs we have implrmented over the years.  We are now able to offer organic apples and pears, as well as stone-fruit to our portfolio of products from Argentina and are hopeful that lemons will once again be permitted entry to the USA in the not too distant future.

Mexico
Fisher Capespan has been operating in Mexico since 2000 when we first started to source grapes from Sonora State. Since then we have built relationships with several Mexican suppliers who are in a position to pack specific grape and citrus programs that meet the needs of discerning North American retailers.

U S A
Working with some of the most respected growers in the Coachella and San Joaquin Valleys, Fisher Capespan's Californian program includes the full gamut of seedless grape varieties: Perlettes, Sugraones, Thompson Seedless, Red Seedless, Crimson, Red Globes and Black Seedless.  Fisher Capespan also has good relationships with a number of good domestic citrus growers and pack-houses.  This allows the company to offer a full portfolio of California and Florida citrus to its customers, when our southern hemisphere citrus is no longer available, and so supply our customers 12 months of the year.

Spain
Easy-peeling citrus products have become an essential offering to the North American food retail industry. Spanish Clementines, grown in Spain's Mediterranean coastal regions, are eagerly awaited each year from early October through to the New Year.

Our approach to the Spanish Clementine program has been to stress quality over volume. Accordingly, we've cautiously grown the program over the last few years.
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ORGANICS
Demand for Organic Produce continues to increase. Fisher Capespan has responded positively to this trend and now strives to meet this need from many sources. Organic grapes from the Southern Hemisphere are only available in any volume from South Africa and Fisher Capespan has become the leading supplier of Imported Organic grapes to the North American market from this supply source. Varieties available from South Africa include Prime, Thompsons, Regal, Sun Red, Flames, Crimsons, Victoria, Red Globe, Dan ben Hannah, and La Rochele. This wide range of varieties enables us to offer the market grapes, from January through May in seedless and seeded varieties of multiple colors.

Fisher Capespan also sources product from South America and New Zealand, on a seasonal basis. Imports include Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, and Citrus. As imported availability increases, Fisher Capespan will ensure that it becomes a leading supplier of Imported Organic produce.
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