Executive Team
Chris Armata, President
As President of E. Armata, Inc., Chris Armata oversees the general administration, as well as the trend and focus of the company. He believes in forward thinking and technology, and never sitting still. Chris places a high value on his company’s most significant assets – their integrity, their people, and their experience – along with the simple approach of always looking ahead. These attributes are what Chris feels will continue to propel E. Armata successfully into the future.
Chris started his industry experience at home, having never been given anything without earning it, and learning everything about the business from his father, Nick. From the age of 14, Chris worked with his father in the summers, starting from the bottom, sweeping warehouses and unloading freight cars when they arrived.
After attending college, Chris started in the company as a warehouseman and worked his way from Checker to Foreman, later becoming a salesman at 23, which was a highlight for Chris. During these fun and challenging times, Chris enjoyed working alongside the other family members. As a salesman, he was responsible for selling western vegetables at night, while his father, Nick, would buy during the day. The challenge of building the vegetable business with his father was a career highlight, as Chris was learning from the best.
E. Armata has evolved and grown tremendously over time, with Chris and his brother, Paul, acting as sole owners since 1997. Chris is proud to have a strong team that he feels is one of the best in the business; with people who fit the company and excel in the roles they fill.
Paul Armata, Vice President
As Vice President of E. Armata, Inc., Paul Armata handles purchasing and monitors sales for the Western Vegetable Division. Paul also oversees other warehouse functions, such as managing the crews, warehouse operations, trucking, and overall sales. As part of the process, he also supervises customer receivables. Paul enjoys interacting with customers and believes that having good customer relations is the key to continued growth.
Paul grew up with the family business and has worked at E. Armata for 35 years. He started as a warehouseman; offloading trucks and making sidewalk deliveries in the summers and on weekends. He became a full-time salesman at the age of 19, initially working nights selling vegetables; a position he held for 17 years.
Since 1997, Paul and his brother, Chris, have been sole owners of the company. Paul is proud of the family business, its integrity and reputation along with their hardworking employees, and a legacy of high-quality E. Armata products.
John Acompora, Treasurer
As Treasurer of E. Armata as well as Managing Director of E. Armata’s Fruit Division, John Acompora, “Ackie,” handles fruit purchasing, oversees fruit sales, and manages all aspects of the Fruit Division. Ackie especially enjoys cultivating the relationships with customers and grower/shippers, and usually begins his workday around 4 am.
Ackie first joined E. Armata in 1978 when Nick Armata hired him to unload trailers. At the age of 21, right out of college, he would show up at Hunts Point Market with a small truck to buy and later resell produce to restaurants. That was where he met Nick’s nephew Peter, who told Ackie, “Stick around, I’ll introduce to my Uncle Nick. We are always looking for young people. When Peter introduced Ackie to Nick, he noticed Ackie’s wedding band. Upon seeing this, he asked Ackie, “Are you married?” Ackie replied yes to which Nick said “Good. Go see the foreman, tell him I said to give you a job.” Two weeks later, Chris Armata came home from college, which was the beginning of a long friendship. Nick brought Chris up in western vegetables and Ackie in fruit. Ackie worked his way up from Unloader to Checker, then Foreman, and eventually Salesman. After a couple of years, Ackie started his own brokerage business, and for almost ten years he worked as a broker in the E. Armata building, 16 hours per day, all the while maintaining his friendship with Chris.
Ackie worked a few more years in the industry, until 2000, when his son, Louis, passed away suddenly. With a need to refocus, Chris and Paul invited Ackie to come back to E. Armata to manage the Fruit Division. Before returning to Armata to start his new position as a buyer, Ackie asked Nick Armata for advice as he often had in the past. Nick told him, “Be yourself, be honest, and everything else will fall into place. Ever since then, Ackie has nurtured the Fruit Division by building relationships with some of the best growers in the business.
Team Leaders
Distribution/Sales
Food Safety/Quality Control
Our Long Standing Employees
From the gentleman sweeping the floors to our men on the forklifts at E. Armata, we believe that our employees are the backbone of our company. We have employees that have been a part of our team for over thirty years. No matter what your role is, at E. Armata, we all grow together.