###

PREVIOUSLY: Sun Valley Floral Farms Issues Layoff Notices to Entire Workforce in Arcata and Oxnard

###

Longtime Sun Valley Group CEO Lane DeVries recently sent the following message to his colleagues in the floral industry explaining the factors that led to the recent closure of the company and the elimination as many as 700 local jobs. 

A Message from Lane
August 2024

Dear Floral Industry friends,

Now that the news of Sun Valley closing has reverberated through the floral industry and our local community, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on good times, but also the journey through the dark valley.

I wish to express my gratitude to the fantastic team we had in our company with dedicated team members. The Sun Valley team spirit and the agility of the Sun Valley team have been a cornerstone and integral to the success of the company throughout the years. It was incredibly painful to say goodbye to this wonderful team in the last 2 months.

The sense of being a Sun Valley family was at the core of our company culture. We had fun building this company with a mission to make a difference and leaving a legacy of a commitment to quality in product and service and advancing the American floral industry at large.

Thank you to our customers and industry friends, many of you have sent messages, emails and phone calls, we very much appreciate these expressions of concern and comfort.

Originally Sun Valley started in 1948 in Southern Oregon, and the company has been doing business in Humboldt County California for 65 years. I have been blessed to be part of this great company since i arrived here in January of 1984.

In the last 40 years, Sun valley went through a period of phenomenal growth. The Sun Valley team continued to expand, and many customers across the USA were eager to buy our flowers. Meanwhile Sun Valley’s involvement in the local community, and its employment base of over 400 team members, were a vital part of the North Coast economy.

Starting 16 years ago our company encountered several serious setbacks:

For instance, in 2008 we lost 75% of our workforce in Arcata due to an immigration action by the government. The ensuing domino effect on operations lasted for nearly 18 months and left the company with a huge financial hole, and lasting scars.

In 2019 “FTD/Proflowers” one of Sun Valley’s largest customers at the time, filed for bankruptcy right after Mother’s Day and several million dollars never were paid. The pandemic in the Spring of 2020 left us with millions of flowers blooming in the greenhouses.

At the same time business conditions in California have made operating a greenhouse flower company very challenging.

The rising cost due to a series of rapid minimum wages increases, and the phased-out elimination of the agricultural overtime exemption has seriously raised the company’s unit cost in recent years.

Insurance expenses have quadrupled in the last 5 years. Natural gas costs have gone up dramatically and electricity expenses have nearly tripled in the last 10 years.

These cumulative factors had a dramatic impact on our competitive position in the marketplace. In many cases our customers were unwilling to accept price increases needed to offset the cost increases.

These conditions have put the company deeper into debt and with the current interest rates, it has deteriorated the financial state of the company.

As owners we reached the point of having difficulty seeing a viable way out on our own accord.

In the last 12 months the company has searched for a suitable investor or a buyer for the entire business. While there were some leads, no buyer for the entire company materialized.

This left us at the point of closing the doors, many have asked what all this means to the supply of core Sun Valley crops.

We are pleased to announce that Continental Floral Greens has assumed the leases of the Willow Creek farm. This assures the continuity of the well know Sun Valley crops like “Spirit Series” Ilex, Rosehips, Cotinus, Snowberries Flowering Cotinus and Snowball Viburnum.

The other core Sun Valley crop that will continue are the Butterfly Ranunculus, and possibly Iris, Continental Floral Greens will be growing these at their Watsonville location.

After finishing winding down Sun Valley, I will be involved in an advisory and consulting capacity to Continental Floral Greens to lend my experience in growing and bringing these crops to the marketplace. Tim Crockenberg, Sun Valley’s lead grower will also come on board.

Many of you know that I’m a man of faith and I trust that our Lord has a plan, and good things are in store for those who believe.

Thank you for all the kind words, prayers, emails and calls of support and encouragement.

I know it is hard to accept but I trust there will come a time that all of it starts making sense.

Thank you and God Bless you,

Lane