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Around the turn of the 20th century, a young boy in the village of Kaporelli, Greece, dreamed of leaving his tiny farming community and creating a new life for himself. It would be tough saving enough money. Passage to that land of opportunity, America, was more money than he had ever seen – but he would do it, even if it meant walking 60 miles to Athens to find work. Thus, young Clement Pappas set out on the first leg of a journey that would culminate in the establishment of one of the country's most successful food processing companies.

Christopher and James Pappas, Clement's older brothers, arrived first in America after coming to the same conclusion that life in their homeland held little opportunity. Determined to join them, Clement set about saving enough money for his own voyage to the states. By the time he was 15 years old, in 1914, he had saved enough to board the ship that would take him to Ellis Island and New York City, where he rejoined his brothers, and worked for three years in the dining halls of Princeton University in New Jersey.

After working in a cannery in Alabama for several years, the brothers decided it was time to strike out on their own. In 1921, they traveled back north to Cologne, N.J., (near Atlantic City), to purchase land to grow tomatoes and other vegetables. They eventually built their own cannery, processing the crops they farmed.

The business flourished to the point that they could phase out the farming operations and establish, with new partner John Gillies, the food processing firm of "Pappas Brothers and Gillies" in 1925. The company initiated cranberry processing and pioneered the commercial production of cranberry sauce.

By the early ‘40s, however, Christopher and James Pappas were getting restless. They thought about retiring and returning to their native Greece. Clement, on the other hand, wanted to expand the business. The difference in philosophy and goals eventually led to a split, with Clement selling his interest in Pappas and Gilles in 1942 and purchasing the Mayhew and Husted canning factory in Cedarville, N.J., renaming it the Clement Pappas Company.

Clement Pappas Company continued its rapid growth, specializing in processing local crops of cranberries, blueberries, tomatoes, peaches, asparagus and vegetables. Clement expanded and modernized the plant several times. After his death in 1966, the reins were passed on to his sons, Dean and Peter. Under their direction, the company continued to expand and in 1970 began producing fruit juices in glass bottles. After a decade of unprecedented growth, the Cedarville plant had reached capacity in juice production.

The next move to accommodate the company's dramatic rise was the purchase in 1983 of the Seabrook Foods facility in Seabrook, N.J., (not far from Cedarville), where it remains today. State-of-the-art food processing and bottling equipment was introduced, and the company continues as a leader in the industry, employing more than 750 people at the four facilities around the country. Those include the manufacturing and distribution facilities in Seabrook, N.J.; Springdale, Ark., which the company acquired in 1998; Mountain Home, N.C., which the company acquired in 2001; and Ontario, Calif., which was built in 2004.

Today, the past and the future unite to create a strong force in the juice manufacturing industry and an invaluable partner for our customers.

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