Reckitt Becomes Fruit Processing Plant
Louise Hoffman Broach / Wayuga Editor
Wednesday, February 3 2010
WOLCOTT - Three of Empire Fruit Growers’ six partners are embarking on a new enterprise at the former Reckitt & Benckiser plant on Main Street.
The operation, known as Pomona Packing LLC, plans to be operational by the fall harvest, said Phil Smith, owner of Smith Brothers Farms in Huron. The other partners involved are Cahoon Farms, also in Huron, and Jay DeBadts and Sons in Sodus.
Smith said Empire has outgrown the facility on Lake Bluff Road where it had been operating, and the group “needed to do something different.
“We’ve been exploring possibilities for several years, but none worked for all six partners,” Smith said.
About 10 months ago, representatives of the Aries Group, which had purchased the Reckitt plant for $525,000 and began discussions with some of Empire’s partners, including Bob Cahoon, who at the time called it “more than a maybe.”
He said there was a need for the packing operation, given the quantity of fresh fruit apples grown in Wayne County. The county is the third largest apple producer in the nation.
Smith said Pomona will be leasing the facility and will make a state of the art packing facility. There will some renovations done to three of the buildings, but Smith said the conversion can be made “without a lot of work.
“Right now we’re talking to contractors and expect to be making dust in there soon,” he said.
In December 2006, Reckitt Benckiser officials announced the 180,000 square-foot Wolcott facility would close by the end of 2007 in a consolidation effort. The plant, which manufactured fried onions, potato sticks and dryer sheets, employed about 70 full-time workers, as well as a varying number of temporary staff.
Smith expects that Pomona will employ 40 people, but expects most of the positions to be filled by people currently working for Empire.
In 2009, the Village of Wolcott, on behalf of the Aries Group, applied for a $2 million Restore NY grant to do major renovations at the plant, but the grant did not come through. Smith said Pomona is currently working with Empire State Development Corp. to see if some of its programs would be appropriate for the operation.
Pomona also expects to do processing for other enterprises, including Farm Fresh First and through its relationship with the New York Apple Association, the non-profit trade association representing the 674 commercial apple growers in New York State. It is the primary marketer for the area’s apples.
Smith said he is very pleased that Pomona will be giving the Reckitt plant a new life. He thinks it’s a winning situation from the village and the building’s current owners, as well for his farm, Cahoon’s and DeBadts’.
Bryan Doyle, one of Empire’s three other growers, said no decisions have been made yet about what he, Wafler Farms and Teeple Farms will do regarding processing.
“It’s to be determined,” he said. “(Pomona) is a new entity and I wish them well.”
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