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VISALIA KRAFT PLANT TO REOPEN AS PROVISIONS FOOD COMPANY INC.
VISALIA — Four months after Kraft closed the doors of its Visalia plant, a new company has leased the facility.
Provisions Food Co. will produce specialty cheeses and cultured products. Operations will begin Sept. 1 inside the 160,000 square-foot plant at Divisadero Street and Goshen Avenue. Early next year, the company will begin processing cream cheese and bleu cheese. In addition, the plant will also produce set and drinkable yogurt. In the next two years, the company plans to create 70-80 jobs.
Provisions Food Co. is a family owned company, formed by Gary and Donna de Graaf. The company’s name is representative of the de Graaf’s Christian faith.
“The name says it all as we celebrate God’s provisions in our lives,” said dairy farmer Gary de Graaf, who along with his wife and two sons, Dustin and Daniel, runs Jer-Z-Boyz Ranch in Pixley. “Opening this plant is a great opportunity for us to put down deeper roots in a community we enjoy. It’s also a chance for us to add value to our own unique milk supply by turning it into specialty cheese and cultured products.”
Provisions Food Co. will initially be supplied with Jersey milk produced by Jer-Z-Boyz Ranch, a leader in Jersey breeding that has received recognition for developing high cheese-yielding genetics. The milk from Jersey cows has higher nutritional components that produce a higher yield of cheese and other milk products than other breeds. For example, 10 pounds of Jersey milk produces 1.35 pounds of cheese, while 10 pounds of milk produced by other breeds makes 1 pound of cheese.
The plant will be operational in September, manufacturing nonfat dry milk powder. In January 2008, it will begin processing products as a custom packer for food service and retail companies. Instrumental in the start-up is Technical Director Jeff Jay, who will oversee the redesign of the facility. He has recently relocated to the area from Wisconsin after having managed cheese plant modernization and installation projects at Land O’Lakes and Swiss Valley Farms plants in Minnesota and Iowa. Provisions Food Co. is being led by Chief Executive Officer Jonathan “Jody” Graves, former CEO of Real Fresh Inc. of Visalia.
“There is a real need for processing capacity in California because of the ongoing increases in milk supply, but there are not many plants being built,” Graves said. “The recent dramatic turnaround in prices is really going to spur additional milk supply and Provisions Food Co. will be there to take on that demand.”
After the plant had been in operation for more than 50 years, Kraft Foods announced in May 2006 that it would close its cultured products plant in Visalia and move production to the company’s newer plant in Tulare. The plant had employed 160 people and half of those jobs were eliminated by April when the plant ceased operations.
In the coming weeks, Provisions Food Co. will be hiring 30 employees. Applications will be accepted for trained operators with experience in milk processing facilities, maintenance workers, boiler operators, lab technicians, cold storage and warehousing. Those interested in applying should send resumes or inquiries to info@provisionsfood.com or P.O. Box 6428, Visalia, CA 93290.