May 1968

Texas Citrus Exchange (TCX), a cooperative, is formed when a group of Rio Grande Valley citrus packers needed an outlet for their packing house elimination fruit.

• 1968-71

  Construction of a new processing plant begins in Mission, Texas. The facility is home to the new TCX.

• October 1971

  Juicing begins at the Mission plant using Brown Juice Extractors. The plant could initially move 40 tons/hour.

• 1974-75

  Several additions are made to the facility, doubling the capacity and throughput.

• 1980-81

  TCX adds a concentrate tank farm to the plant for bulk storage, increasing capacity by more than one million gallons.

• 1981

  TCX and Tetra Pak install one of the first aseptically packaged juice lines in the country with a line of retail units for orange and grapefruit juice.

• Christmas 
  1983

  A massive freeze decimates the citrus crop in south Texas when temperatures drop into the teens.

• 1984

  Citrus processing slows down and custom processing begins for plants in Mexico. TCX builds and patents one of the first Aloe Vera juice extractors.

• 1988

  The canning operation in the Harlingen plant—consisting of citrus juice and blends—moves to the Mission plant.

• Christmas 
  1989

  Another massive freeze decimates the valley citrus crop, cutting output in half. Fruit volume remains low until the 1993 season.

• 1991

  The only other juice processor in south Texas closes, leaving TCX as the sole citrus juice processor.

• 1993

  The retail packaging division adds a 40,000-square-foot dry warehouse for finished goods storage.

• 1998

  The first bottling line is added to the retail division, producing a number of juice blends and juice cocktails.

• 1999

  TCX partners with Citrus World Inc. to handle the sale of finished goods. Canning and bottling lines are modernized for efficiency, and HACCP plans are implemented on all lines even before the FDA requirement in 2002.

• summer 2003

  A Brown Premium pulp cell recovery system is added to recover premium pulp cells.

• 2005

  TCX begins brewing tea for Sweet Leaf Tea, and the bottling line is upgraded to package glass containers.

• 2006-07

  Fruit unloading upgrades include truck lifts and finishing capacity. Additional Brown Oil Extractors increase cold-press oil recovery.

• 2008-09

  TCX implements GFSI and, in October 2009, the facility is certified under the IFS standard, which remains today.

• Early 2009

  TCX adds a modern bottling line to the Retail Packaging Division. The product line expands with new flavors like grape and vegetable juice and cranberry cocktail.

• August 2009

  TCX begins co-packing for Texas Tea, adding a newcomer to the tea category. The line has expanded from five flavors to more than a dozen.

• 2013

  TCX doubles the capacity of the Not From Concentrate (NFC) juice system to meet new demand.

• Summer 2014

  Brown Juice Extractors are removed and a new JBT Juice Extraction System is installed. Oil and pulp cell recovery along with fruit receiving are upgraded, streamlined, and automated, reducing costs and downtime.

• July 1, 2015

  Wonderful Citrus acquires TCX, renaming it the Rio Grande Juice Company. To learn more, visit www.wonderfulcitrus.com