FOOD PROCESSING
Del Monte Consolidates Distribution
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el Monte has long been a giant figure in the U.S. food industry. The company traces its history to the California gold rush years. Today, the company has annual sales of more than $3 billion after its 2002 acquisition of several business units from the H.J. Heinz Co. That deal more than doubled Del Monte's size and greatly increased its real estate portfolio.
After the smoke cleared, Del Monte found itself with 18 distribution centers around the U.S. A consolidation is under way and the company now has 15 on its way to six primary 800,000-sq.-ft. (74,320-sq.-m.) facilities. Ray Volan, Del Monte's director of real estate, says all of the sites have been selected, but not all have been announced. So far, the announced sites are in Atlanta, Fort Worth and Lath rop, Calif. To serve the Northeast, Del Monte is utilizing the
services of logistics provider ES3 at its York, Pa., facility
Volan says access to rail is the primary site selection driver. He says the acquisition resulted in having facilities in the same area and some were sized for the particular products they housed.
"It made more sense to go to one distribution center in these areas," Volan says. "Our primary purpose was to present one face to our customers."
Del Monte also acquired about 600 Heinz employees in the deal, many of them housed in several older buildings in the Pittsburgh area. Adding these to the 600 Del Monte already had in the city created some substantial space needs.
"Our goal was to get everyone into one building and have more of a presence in Pittsburgh," Volan says.
In November 2005, Del Monte will move into a new six-story, 270,000-sq.-ft. (25,000-sq.-m.) office building between PNC Park and Heinz Field and on the footprint of the site of Three Rivers Stadium, which was demolished a few years ago. Del Monte will lease 178,000 sq. ft. (16,500 sq. m.) of the building.
Heinz is also expanding in the Pittsburgh area with The Heinz Food Innovation & Quality Center, or "Heinz Food IQ Center," which is set to open in mid-2005. The 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,300-sq.-m.) facility will house the company's research and development operations and its quality assurance laboratories. More than 100 Heinz researchers and food technologists will work there.
"It's an excellent location in our headquarters city in an industrial park area," says Debbie Foster, Heinz spokeswoman.
Another food heavyweight on the move is Kraft Foods, which moved its Kraft Foods Latin America headquarters from Rye Brook, N.Y., to Coral Gables, Fla. The move south is part of the company's new global organizational structure. Kraft now occupies two floors of a 16-story tower. The offices house about 130 employees and include the staffs of Kraft's Caribbean and Exports groups.
After the smoke cleared, Del Monte found itself with 18 distribution centers around the U.S. A consolidation is under way and the company now has 15 on its way to six primary 800,000-sq.-ft. (74,320-sq.-m.) facilities. Ray Volan, Del Monte's director of real estate, says all of the sites have been selected, but not all have been announced. So far, the announced sites are in Atlanta, Fort Worth and Lath rop, Calif. To serve the Northeast, Del Monte is utilizing the
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| Del Monte's new regional headquarters is taking shape on the riverfront in Pittsburgh. The new office building is adjacent to Heinz Field and sits where Three Rivers Stadium was prior to its demolition. |
Volan says access to rail is the primary site selection driver. He says the acquisition resulted in having facilities in the same area and some were sized for the particular products they housed.
"It made more sense to go to one distribution center in these areas," Volan says. "Our primary purpose was to present one face to our customers."
Del Monte also acquired about 600 Heinz employees in the deal, many of them housed in several older buildings in the Pittsburgh area. Adding these to the 600 Del Monte already had in the city created some substantial space needs.
"Our goal was to get everyone into one building and have more of a presence in Pittsburgh," Volan says.
In November 2005, Del Monte will move into a new six-story, 270,000-sq.-ft. (25,000-sq.-m.) office building between PNC Park and Heinz Field and on the footprint of the site of Three Rivers Stadium, which was demolished a few years ago. Del Monte will lease 178,000 sq. ft. (16,500 sq. m.) of the building.
Heinz is also expanding in the Pittsburgh area with The Heinz Food Innovation & Quality Center, or "Heinz Food IQ Center," which is set to open in mid-2005. The 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,300-sq.-m.) facility will house the company's research and development operations and its quality assurance laboratories. More than 100 Heinz researchers and food technologists will work there.
"It's an excellent location in our headquarters city in an industrial park area," says Debbie Foster, Heinz spokeswoman.
Another food heavyweight on the move is Kraft Foods, which moved its Kraft Foods Latin America headquarters from Rye Brook, N.Y., to Coral Gables, Fla. The move south is part of the company's new global organizational structure. Kraft now occupies two floors of a 16-story tower. The offices house about 130 employees and include the staffs of Kraft's Caribbean and Exports groups.
