Olam Tomato, facing falling demand, will begin downsizing local operations

One source indicated that the company informed employees the plant would close on Dec. 20, but that it will stay open until its food stock is distributed, possibly until June.

The prospective closing comes on the heels of a similar plant closure in Williams, California, where company officials announced last month that the Olam processing plant there will cease operations. About 200 employees will be without a job following the current harvest season.

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The company announced in a statement last month that it will cease all operations of the Williams plant, due to the decreased demand for canned food, stated an article in the Williams Pioneer Review, a Colusa County newspaper.

The article went on to blame the falling demand for canned food and that the canned food industry has seen a decrease in demand. While canned foods are considered to be household essentials by a majority of homes, consumers are demanding foods packaged with freshness, superior quality, convenience, and eco-friendliness.

Lemoore Olam Marketing Manager Tiffany Silveira confirmed that the local plant is in the process of “downsizing” and agreed with the falling demand in the canned food industry. “It was the tomato industry as a whole,” she said.

She said there are currently 230 employees employed at the local Lemoore plant. While downsizing, company officials will assess the future of the plant, possibly trying to get other manufacturers interested in the local site.

“I think as we look back on the previous season, it kept becoming clearer that we’re facing higher costs in a marketplace that has more competition. I don’t think we can operate as we do today,” said Silveira.

Officials with the Williams plant said they would ramp down operations until the middle of 2020 when all their shipments have been fulfilled.

According to Olam’s website, the company has over 170 processing and manufacturing facilities across the world. Olam is a leading food and agribusiness, supplying a broad portfolio of products to over 19,800 customers who range from multi-national, world-famous brands to small family-run businesses.

Olam, a Singapore-based global food processor with thousands of employees, purchased the former SK Foods plant. According to an article in the Hanford Sentinel in 2011, Olam bought the plant and continued with the tomato processing business. More than 200 employees were retained by Olam when they took over the plant.

Olam also added $10 million worth of infrastructure to the existing plant.