NORPAC Foods sells canning business to Seneca Foods

NORPAC Foods, a fruit and vegetable processor representing more than 200 Oregon growers, has sold its canning business to Seneca Foods Corp.

The farmer-owned cooperative will close its beet processing plant in Salem and its Hermiston processing facility by the end of 2017. 

“In our 93 years as a farmer-owned cooperative, our canning business has been an important part of our history, but over time, it gradually represented a smaller percentage of our overall business,” Shawn Campbell, NORPAC president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Canning operations account for 6 percent of NORPAC's overall business, said spokeswoman Amy Wood.

NORPAC officials declined to comment on the number of workers affected by the closures.

Some workers may be funneled into open positions at other NORPAC packaging and processing operations, Wood said. 

NORPAC will continue manufacturing canned products for Marion, New York-based Seneca though late 2017. 

The cooperative's canning and labeling plants in Brooks and Stayton will be redesigned to make room for additional frozen vegetable processing in 2018 as part of this transition. 

Hermiston is the cooperative's smallest operation, employing full-time, part-time and seasonal employees. Wood said NORPAC could not disclose the number of Hermiston workers.

NORPAC is closing its Hermiston facility to consolidate operations into its Brooks, Quincy and Washington facilities.

"It currently produces many of the same items that are produced in our Quincy facility, so consolidating all of that production at Quincy will allow us to be more efficient," Wood said. 

In the case of the Salem plant, which operates seasonally from August to October for beet canning, Wood said that facility's closure is a "nonissue," as it has been shuttered since last fall.

Wood said the Salem location is NORPAC's second-smallest facility. 

Rusty Rock, Salem field operations manager with Food Safety and Animal Health in the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said consolidation happens frequently in the food industry, especially in food processing. 

"Traditionally, food processing is kind of a dog-eat-dog environment," Rock said.

He points to Seneca's history of acquiring food companies, including Independent Foods LLC in Sunnyside, Washington, 50 percent of Truitt Bros., Inc., Diana Fruit Company in Santa Clara, California, and Gray & Company in Hart, Michigan.

"I wouldn't say consolidation is a trend, but Seneca is trying to corner the market on canned vegetables at this point," Rock said.

Seneca processes fruits and vegetables from more than 3,000 farms throughout the country. 

“The transition away from our canning business and the closure of our Hermiston processing facility will help us drive efficiencies and reduce operational complexities as we invest in continued growth and innovation in our frozen product lines,” Campbell said. 

The sale comes just under three months after Campbell was named NORPAC's president and chief executive officer following George Smith's retirement and 38-year tenure. 

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