History
1952 Having recently immigrated from Holland, Pierre and John Van Winden, acquire 8 acres of land that they begin to cultivate in Sherrington, in the south of Québec.
1969 Three Van Winden brothers, Pierre, John and Arie found the fresh vegetable packaging Sapec Cooperative with five other growers.
1984 Pierre’s son, Gerry Wan Winden takes over the family business, known at the time as Les Maraîchers Van Winden Inc.
1985 Gerry Van Winden becomes President of the Fédération des Producteurs Maraîchers du Québec, position he will hold until 1989.
1989 Les Maraîchers Van Winden Inc. undertake a partnership with a Mexican concern still active today, and begin growing fresh produce in Mexico.
1991 Les Maraîchers Van Winden Inc. changes its name to Multi Veg Coop, a cooperative amalgamating five local produce farms: Les Productions Horticoles Inc., Les Maraîchers J.P.L. Guérin Inc., Les Fermes Hotte & Van Winden Inc. and Delfland Inc. The Coop specializes in storage and marketing of fresh vegetables grown by its members.
1993 Groupe Vegco is founded as a result of the association of Multi Veg Coop with Sapec and two other packaging companies, Onipro and Consu-Pak.
1997 Groupe Vegco is the first grower to develop a coreless variety of lettuce in Québec.
1998 Gerry Van Winden and his associates, including Anthony Fantin and various Multi-Veg Coop produce farms break away from Groupe Vegco Inc. to found Veg Pro International, a company focused on innovation and aiming to achieve a broader presence on the international market.
2000 Veg Pro International founds Vert Nature Inc., at the time the only company in Canada to specialize in producing baby spinach, lettuces and cruciferous leafy vegetables known as mesclun.
2001 Veg Pro International starts to produce baby leafy vegetables in the State of Florida, in partnership with an American concern.
2001 Veg Pro International acquires 730 acres of land in Sherrington.
2004 Veg Pro International continues its ongoing expansion and acquires 500 acres of land in Napierville, in Montérégie.
2006 Veg Pro appropriates 500 acres of land that it has been leasing over the last few years in Florida.
2007 Veg Pro International finishes building its new processing and packaging plant located in Sherrington where it has implemented the latest in fresh produce processing and packaging technology.