Mills in a Family Way Now       
Salinas Valley company changes its name

By Larry Parsons
The Californian

After nearly 50 years as a Salinas Valley produce grower-shipper, family-operated Mills Inc. is putting family first.

The company, headed by brothers Basil and Roger Mills, is switching its name to Mills Family Farms.

The new name and colorful logo not only will adorn business cards and forms, but also will become the label on Mills' "Wholeaves®" ready-to-serve lettuce leaves and other packaged products.

"It does sound homier," said senior vice president David Mills, one of Basil's two sons in executive positions with the 47-year-old Salinas company. "Obviously we are a family-run business. We are proud of that."

Started in 1958 by Basil Mills as Mills Distributing Co. -- a single-employee cauliflower marketing operation -- the company and several allied firms now employ about 1,000 people and post annual sales of $100 million.

But family ties are still strong. Basil's daughter, Sue, is office manager for Adobe Packing Co., and another father-son team, Joe and Jerry Esquivel, are partners with Mills in the packing firm and Chieftain Harvesting Inc. Many employees at Mills headquarters have been with the company for 20 to 30 years.

"People do like to be associated with family businesses and family operations, whether they are other family businesses or corporations," David Mills said.

As the Mills company expanded into all aspects of the produce industry -- from growing and harvesting to packing and marketing -- the company name has changed, too.

Until the mid-1990s, it was still called Mills Distributing Co., but that sounded too much like a brokerage operation only. Hence, the switch to the terser, no-nonsense Mills Inc.

"We still get a lot of Christmas cards addressed to Mills Distributing," said company President Basil Mills with a chuckle.

"But the phone numbers are still the same," said Roger Mills, executive vice president, pointing toward the central sales office on West Market Street. "We just answer the phone 'Mills.' "

The new logo contains a windmill next to a field of row crops. The company has used a "wind-Mill" -- as Roger Mills pronounces the word -- before, but the symbol's use will grow.

"You'll start seeing it more," David Mills said. "It will become a tradition."

Over the years, the produce company has been confused a few times with The Mills Brothers singing group.

That prompted a little takeoff on the new Web site for Mills Family Farm. David Mills and his brother, Senior Vice-President James Mills, travel more often these days to produce industry trade meetings.

They'll highlight their 2004 bookings on the Web site, as if they're on tour like those other Mills brothers.