Empire State Development (ESD) today announced frozen food processor Bonduelle USA Inc. will expand operations at its locations in Monroe and Genesee counties. The company is investing in new equipment and machinery at its facilities in Brockport, Bergen and Oakfield, which will increase production and improve efficiency at the three plants. That growth will require the addition of 22 new full-time jobs and will mean the retention of 340 jobs in the region.

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, "Bonduelle USA Inc.'s decision to expand their operations in New York State is a testament to the economic opportunities available in Upstate New York for companies that are looking to take their business to the next level. We look forward to seeing the company continue to grow and create jobs in the Finger Lakes.”

The canned and frozen vegetable producer is well-established in the Americas, operating several production sites including four in the United States, seven in Canada and one in Brazil. These sites are used to transform frozen and canned vegetables into a variety of canned sauces, baked beans, legumes and soups. As well as producing for major retail brands, the American subsidiary also markets vegetables under its own brands, including Arctic Gardens and Graves in Canada, and Bonduelle in Canada, the United States and Brazil. The company services supermarkets and catering circuits including restaurants, institutional food service and school dining halls.

Daniel Vielfaure, president of Bonduelle Americas Long Life said, “Bonduelle is encouraged and excited to continue its business growth in the United States in which our New York State plants play an integral part. We are very pleased for the support and the commitment that the State of New York has for all agricultural businesses and we look forward to their continued support.”

In order to encourage Bonduelle to expand its operations in New York State, Empire State Development has offered up to $700,000 in performance-based Excelsior tax credits, which are tied to the creation of 22 new jobs and retention of 340 existing jobs. The total project cost is $20 million and Bonduelle expects the expansion to be completed by June 2018.

Supporting agribusiness is among the top priorities of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council and the region's Finger Lakes Forward Initiative.

FLREDC Co-chairs, Monroe Community College President Anne Kress and Wegmans Food Markets CEO Danny Wegman, said “The FLREDC is strongly committed to supporting agricultural endeavors like this in an effort to grow jobs as part of the overall Finger Lakes Forward strategy. Agriculture is an important industry, a key driver of our regional economy, which is helping to bolster our efforts to ensure the regions vitality for years to come.”

State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer said, “Today's announcement by a major frozen-food processor to invest and grow in Genesee and Monroe counties is further proof that our agribusiness economy is strong. Bonduelle's expansion will create new opportunities and jobs for our residents. I commend the leadership team for their decision to help move our region forward."

Bonduelle has more than 13,500 employees worldwide. For more about Bonduelle click here.

If you're a vegetable processing company, "growth" better be your favorite word.

It's a word tossed around dozens of times today during an open house for local officials and regional media at Bonduelle's facility in Bergen.

The family-run, France-based firm purchased the plant, along with plants in Oakfield and Brockport, from Allen Foods in March 2012.

It was a strategic purchase. Bonduelle, which specializes in packaging frozen vegetables under the labels of retailers, sees the United States as a place to grow and the Northeast as suitable target market.

Company executives made four trips to Allen's facilities and decided the plants were under-utilized but were in great locations with great employees, said Daniel Viefaure, CEO of Bonduelle Americas.

"When we visited the plants, what we saw were people eager for improvement," Viefaure said. "They were working under a company that was not as eager for growth as we were and the employees realized that. When they saw we were visiting, they were really interested and I got the feeling that they were the right people to do what we really wanted to do."

To date, Bonduelle has invested for $5.5 million in the four former Allen plants (there's also one in Wisconsin), including $3.5 million in the Bergen facility.

Bonduelle was so eager to grow in its first year that it applied for -- but didn't use because the timing wasn't right -- a $250,000 state grant through the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

While Allen was reportedly losing money on the facilities it sold to Bonduelle, Viefaure said his company was profitable its first year of operations.

The company plans to continue growing its WNY operations and Vielfaure said Bonduelle will likely seek out future assistance from GCEDC to assist with that growth.

Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC, said Bonduelle is a great success story for Genesee County, helping to shore up the vegetable end of the county's food processing industry.

“This is a game changer,” Hyde said. “The companies that owned this plant previously were really allowing it to decline and they weren’t investing and they weren’t growing, and now what you see is a 180 (degree change).”

The move into WNY by Bonduelle has certainly had a big impact on its employees in Bergen and Oakfield, who were on the cusp of unemployment under Allen. Bonduelle made a point of retaining the 69 year-around employees at the two plants.

The facilities also employ 188 seasonal workers.

Currently, the Bergen facility processes 107 million pounds of corn, carrots, beans and peas, said James Newcomb, facilities manager for Bonduelle.

Newcomb has 42 years experience working for the companies that roll up into the history of the Bonduelle plants.

On one of the tours today, Newcomb repeatedly emphasized the great care for quality Bonduelle has instilled in the plants, making equipment upgrades, improving training and ensuring only the best produce is purchased from family farms within 75 miles of the plants.

"Our customers were asking for more product, but we didn't have the capacity," Viefaure said. "Our customers are very happy to buy more product from us. They are experiencing growth and they needed more vegetables."

Among Bonduelle's clients is Wegmans, which Viefaure said is a great customer for Bonduelle because of Wegmans insistence on quality vegetables for its brand-name frozen foods.

"Wegmans is a state-of-the-art company," Viefaure said.

While Viefaure did not discuss today the specific expansion plans for his company, he did make clear the company is looking to grow its market share in the Northeast and that will mean expansion in Bergen and Oakfield.

James Newcomb demonstrating how corn kernals are stripped from the cob.

A worker sorting through kernals of cut corn, picking out imperfections. Newcomb said this was his first job in the industry and said it's one of the hardest jobs in the plant.

"He (Daniel Vielfaure, CEO of Bonduelle Americas) said the company did not seek tax breaks from the county to complete the acquisition because simply, assistance wasn’t needed. They used a “hurry-up offense” – a football analogy Vielfaure used – to get the seeds in the ground by April to start the process as soon as possible and knew this was the best opportunity to jump right in."

But.... Steve Hyde is quoted a couple of times in the article, like he had something to do with this, as well as various government types all jumping in to take credit for some one else's success!

The frozen food industry in Upstate New York got a boost recently with global giant Bonduelle’s entry into the American market. Bonduelle, the French-based company that is a worldwide market leader in frozen, canned, and ready-to-use vegetables, made a recent acquisition of two frozen food processing plants and one packaging plant in Upstate New York, as well as a processing plant in Fairwater, Wis., that launches the company’s presence in the United States.

“Upstate New York was a natural selection for entry into the U.S. market because of the presence of a strong agricultural community that produces vegetables up to Bonduelle’s strict quality standards,” said Daniel Vielfaure, CEO of Bonduelle Americas. “We are very pleased with the way the acquisition has gone and are thrilled to be able to contribute to local economic development.”

The Upstate New York plants, which are located in Oakfield, Bergen and Brockport, were previously owned by Allens. Bonduelle acquired the properties in 2012 and retained all of the existing full-time staff. Bonduelle employs nearly 800 people in the U.S., 400 of which are full-time workers.

Bonduelle plans to process 257 million pounds of frozen vegetables in the United States in 2014; 40 percent will be processed in Bergen and 17 percent in Oakfield. The Brockport packaging facility will pack 130 million pounds of processed vegetables.

Jim Newcomb, facilities manager at the Bergen plant, has been pleased with the acquisition and the new ownership.
 
“They’ve been a great company to work for,” Newcomb said. “Bonduelle has exchanged innovative ideas with us and implemented some of our best practices in their existing operations. It really feels like a partnership.”
 
Bonduelle purchases produce — including sweet corn, peas, carrots, beans, and spinach — from local growers and rents space from local cold storage facilities, further infusing dollars into the area’s economy.

Although a well-known brand name in Europe, Canada, and South America, Bonduelle currently provides vegetables only for private label brands in America. Wegmans store brand frozen vegetables are a notable example of Bonduelle crops produced and distributed under private label.

A bit of the Bonduelle food processing property in Oakfield, off Pearl Street, this afternoon, just before the rain started.