Tag: Food and Agriculture

PepsiCo Expands to New Claymont Facility

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PepsiCo chooses to expand in Delaware with $62M investment in upgraded Claymont site

Kurt Foreman of Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Brett Saddler of Claymont Renaissance Development Corp., Alison Benton of PepsiCo, Becky Harrington of Delaware Prosperity Partnership and C.J. Bell of the New Castle County Office of Economic Development following the December 9 meeting of the Council on Development Finance.

New facility at former steel mill location will enhance Northeast operations and create new jobs in Delaware

December 11, 2024

Delaware’s economic development efforts have secured a $62 million investment by Pepsi Beverages Sales, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo, to establish an upgraded facility in Claymont. The new site, located in the same county as the previous Wilmington facility, will retain 216 existing positions and create 77 additional jobs in the state, playing a key role in expanding the entity’s Northeast warehousing capabilities.

Located at 4145 Philadelphia Pike, the facility is part of the redeveloped Claymont Steel Mill property. PepsiCo will complete multi-million-dollar renovations to the leased 359,000-square-foot space and make significant investments in new equipment to enhance regional operations and support growing demand. In addition, the site will serve as a key hub for supporting manufacturing sites across the region.

“PepsiCo Beverage Sales’ decision to increase its operations in Delaware is great news for our state,” said Governor John Carney. “I would like to thank PepsiCo’s leadership for their commitment to grow in the First State.”

PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, traces part of its history back to Delaware, where the Pepsi-Cola Company was first incorporated in 1919. A longtime member of the state’s business landscape, the company remains committed to supporting the local workforce. The enhanced facility will support various roles, including warehouse loaders, drivers, merchandisers, sales representatives and managers.

“This is exciting news for New Castle County and the State of Delaware,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. “We’re pleased that PepsiCo Beverage Sales has chosen to concentrate its regional operations here and continue its role as a longtime Delaware employer.”

Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) collaborated with PepsiCo to secure the Claymont location and connect the company with state resources. On Monday, the state Council on Development Finance (CDF) approved up to $2,887,000 in grant funding from the Delaware Strategic Fund. These grants, contingent on PepsiCo meeting commitments for job retention, job creation and capital investment, underscore Delaware’s proactive support for businesses investing in the state.

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About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Created in 2017, Delaware Prosperity Partnership is the nonprofit public/private organization leading Delaware’s statewide economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and support private employers in identifying, recruiting and developing talent.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $91 billion in net revenue in 2023, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

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Hanover Foods Investing in Clayton Site

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MISI Funding Will Help Hanover Foods Upgrade Delaware Site’s Infrastructure and Equipment

DPP’s Kurt Foreman and Charles A. Madden. Hanover’s David Shaqfeh and Will Choi, KEP’s Linda Parkowski, Hanover’s Justin Prystajko and DPP’s Megan Kopistecki are shown following the Council on Development Finance meeting.

State Grant Will Support 100-Year-Old Corporation’s Investment in Over $5M in Updates at Clayton Facility

September 23, 2024

A 100-year-old producer and distributor of canned and frozen vegetables and refrigerated and canned meal products has received a Delaware Modernization Investment Support Initiative (MISI) grant to help update its plant in Clayton.

Hanover Foods Corporation has been approved for up to $1 million in funding from the state pilot program that aims to help Delaware businesses evolve and remain competitive within their industries. The company will apply the grant toward a more than $5 million project to improve its Clayton site with modernized drying and freezing infrastructure and upgraded harvesting, washing and sorting equipment.

Hanover contracts with 41 farms in Delaware and 38 farms in Maryland to have them grow peas, corn, lima beans and edamame on behalf of the company. Hanover then harvests, processes, packages and distributes the products for sale at grocery retailers across the United States. Hanover’s Clayton plant employs 55 workers year-round and adds more than 100 additional seasonal workers between May and November.

“With this investment, Hanover will be able to modernize their technology to continue operations and potentially expand,” said Governor John Carney. “Without this investment, the 100-year-old company may have made the tough decision to close their sole Delaware facility, located in Clayton. Thanks to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) and the Kent Economic Partnership (KEP) for their effort to support existing employers that are critical to our community.”

Hanover Foods was founded as Hanover Canning Company in 1924 to assist Hanover, Pennsylvania-area farmers in packaging and distributing their produce and has grown into an industry leader in the growing, processing, packaging, marketing and distribution of a wide range of food products. The company currently has 10 domestic plants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and two international plants in Guatemala.

Hanover Foods is a key employer in Kent County and a vital player in Delaware’s agriculture sector. Largely because of its operations in the state, Delaware is the #1 producer of lima beans in the United States.

“Hanover Foods has a longstanding history as an integral part of the agriculture supply chain in Delaware and surrounding areas,” said KEP Executive Director Linda Parkowski. “The MISI grant will allow them to modernize and stay competitive and remain a part of Delaware agriculture for many years to come.”

The MISI pilot program was created in 2023 following a proposal by DPP and the state Division of Small Business. Up to $5 million from the Delaware Strategic Fund has been approved for distribution through the MISI pilot to help existing Delaware companies preemptively avert or reduce future potential risks to jobs and operations and encourage reinvestment toward long-term sustainability. DPP previously supported successful MISI applications from Wilmington’s High-Tech Machine Co. in 2023 and Newark’s Natural Dairy earlier this year.

KEP and DPP learned of Hanover Foods’ needs when they connected with the company through their Business Retention Engagement efforts. Both economic development organizations supported the company’s MISI funding request to the state Council on Development Finance.

“Hanover Foods has long valued our trusted partnerships with Delaware and Maryland farmers, and we are proud to be the employer of choice for our team members at our Clayton, Delaware, facility,” said David Shaqfeh, president of Hanover Foods Corporation. “We are grateful to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the administration of Governor John Carney and our other state and county partners for working with us to help keep Hanover Foods a strong and vibrant contributor to the local and state economy.”

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About DPP

Created in 2017, Delaware Prosperity Partnership (choosedelaware.com) is the nonprofit public/private organization that leads Delaware’s statewide economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and support private employers in identifying, recruiting and developing talent.

About Hanover Foods

Hanover Foods Corporation (hanoverfoods.com) is committed to a vision of growing, manufacturing and packaging nutritious, high-quality and affordable foods in categories across the food spectrum. The fully integrated, self-producing, American, family-owned manufacturer of frozen, canned, fresh, deli and snack foods has a passion for continuous improvement, sustainability, innovation and growth in each category.

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MISI Will Help Natural Dairy to Compete

Written on . Posted in In the News, Press Releases.

Woman-owned Organic Dairy Approved for MISI Funding to Upgrade Equipment

Charles A. Madden of DPP, Stephanie McVaugh of Natural Dairy and Megan Kopistecki and Becky Harrington, both of DPP, following the Council on Finance Development meeting.

$858K Modernization Grant Will Help Newark Business Compete in Its Industry

August 26, 2024

A 30-year-old organic dairy company in Newark, Delaware, has received a grant from a pilot program aimed at helping Delaware businesses evolve and remain competitive within their industries.

Natural Dairy Products Corporation has been approved for up to $858,400 in Modernization Investment Support Initiative (MISI) funding toward equipment upgrades totaling nearly $4.3 million. MISI monies will support the company’s Shelf-Life Extension Project, which includes replacing aging, inefficient filling machines – some dating from as far back as the 1960s – that cannot provide the longer shelf life the industry now requires.

“Agriculture is Delaware’s number one industry. Natural Dairy will use this grant to upgrade their equipment and stay competitive,” said Governor John Carney. “This is what the Modernization Investment Support Initiative is designed to do – help companies like Natural Dairy stay and grow in the First State.”

The MISI pilot program was created in 2023 following a proposal by Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) and the state Division of Small Business. Up to $5 million from the Delaware Strategic Fund has been approved for distribution through the MISI pilot to help existing Delaware companies preemptively avert or reduce future potential risks to jobs and operations.

Natural Dairy was begun by the MacArthur family in 1994 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and is now located on Markus Court in Newark, Delaware. The Delaware dairy company produces milk and dairy products, serves as a contract manufacturer and also has expanded into plant-based products and juices. Natural Dairy supports 22 organic dairy farms in the tri-state region and employs Delawareans of various skill levels in good-paying manufacturing jobs.

  • Current Machine

  • Ordered Machine

In recent years, limitations posed by aging equipment have led Natural Dairy to lose contracts and be unable to bid for new ones. As a result, the company had to reduce its production schedule from seven days per week to four and cut its full-time employee positions from 24 to 21. Replacing its quart and half-gallon filling machines over the next two years will allow Natural Dairy to better serve current customers, bid on new contracts and restore its staff totals and production schedule.

Current owner Stephanie McVaugh, a Goldey Beacom College graduate, had begun working at Natural Dairy in 1999. The company moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware due to the utilities available and Newark’s strategic location along Interstate 95.

“In the past few years,” McVaugh said, “our team became very aware that adding shelf life to our fluid products through modernizing our equipment would be the key to our future growth and success.”

DPP connected with Natural Dairy as part of the statewide economic development organization’s Business Retention Engagement program and supported the company’s MISI funding request to the state Council on Development Finance. Last year, DPP supported a successful MISI application from Wilmington’s High-Tech Machine Co.

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Sussex Incubator Supports Food Startups

Written on . Posted in In the News.

Cooking up Success, Southern Delaware Kitchen Incubator Aims for Culinary Revolution

The Georgetown facility provides a much-needed solution for business owners facing challenges in finding a place to cook in southern Delaware.

By Johnny Perez-Gonzalez

Starting a small food business just got easier in southern Delaware after county officials unveiled a new kitchen incubator to support “foodpreneurs” looking for a space to cook up their fusion of food blends.

Items now being produced at the centralized kitchen range from key lime pies to hot sauce, breads, and pizzas. The initiative is helping pave a new career pathway for residents in mostly rural Sussex County.

The county’s director of economic development Bill Pfaff identified the need for a commercial kitchen to help small businesses produce their goods.

“One of the things that I constantly heard from foodpreneurs was there wasn’t space for them to produce their product to take the commercialization because you must produce your food products in a licensed commercial kitchen,” Pfaff said.

The pandemic hindered the county’s efforts to get the kitchen up and running.

“I started working on this kitchen incubator pre-COVID, and then COVID hit, everything had to come to a standstill, but we never gave up, we continued to work on it,” he said. “It ended up taking a little bit more work to do because of the federal shutdown.”

After years of effort, the incubator was finally made available for use in a soft launch in late April, with two dozen food business owners currently utilizing the space. The grand opening attracted a wave of entrepreneurs eager to leverage this innovative resource.

Jessica Williamson of Milton was part of that first wave with Coastal Key Lime Pie, the company she co-owns. The creation of the kitchen incubator allowed Williamson and her husband Lee to bring their unique key lime pie to the coastal area.

Since discovering the incubator at Delaware Technical Community College’s Georgetown campus, the pastry chef says the demand for her pies has skyrocketed.

“We were the one of the first ones to sign up, this was back in May,” Williamson said. “That allowed us to quickly get our permit to be able to sell the pies at our local farmers market and we really [have] grown since then pretty amazingly … it was just hard to keep up [with] the demand.”

After working in human resources for more than 15 years, Williamson says she never imagined branching out into a new career. But with the foundation provided by the kitchen incubator, the couple now plans to open their own kitchen nearby.

“This is like a totally new industry for us to learn and grow in. I’ve done this my whole career and now I’m ready to try something new and venture out and see where it takes us,” she said. “We’ve already started plans for renovating our own space and having our own little small kitchen, which will be in Seaford.”

Pfaff says the incubator helps entrepreneurs deal with the big expense of starting a food-based business, including building a kitchen from scratch, providing their own kitchen tools, and doing maintenance.

“The purpose of the kitchen incubator was to help remove restrictive barriers of high cost capital investment associated with leasing or purchasing a commercial kitchen and kitchen equipment,” Pfaff said. “We’ve taken that headache out of the mix.”

“The kitchen incubator also reduces the risk of failure by removing additional startup barriers in areas of managing and maintaining a commercial kitchen,” he said. “We take care of everything.”

In addition to providing the kitchen to cook with, the county also offers resources needed to elevate the business.

“We also provide technical assistance in training and value-added services related to distribution, branding, marketing, pricing, insurance, legal services and financial opportunities,” he said. “When you go into business being a foodpreneur, being an entrepreneur, you’re working for the business. You want to get it to a point where the biggest business begins to work for you and we give you those tools to achieve that.”

To take advantage of this resource, individuals have to be in good standing with state permit requirements, obtain the ServSafe certification, and be insured. Afterwards individuals are able to pay for a membership to gain access to the kitchen.

After that, it’s up to them to bring the food and start cooking away.

This article was originally posted on the WHYY website at: https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-georgetown-kitchen-incubator-foodpreneurs/

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Delmarva Chicken Industry at 100 Years

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Delmarva chicken industry celebrates 100th birthday

2023 also marks 75th anniversary of Delmarva Chicken Association

The Delmarva Chicken Association (DCA) was founded in 1948. That same year, chicken farmers nationwide turned an eager eye toward Georgetown, Delaware. After a three-year nationwide search, the Chicken of Tomorrow contest winner would be announced at the first Delmarva Chicken Festival.

The contest’s goal? Create a better breed of broiler chicken.

California-based Vantress Hatchery received the $5,000 first prize, but the Delmarva Peninsula’s farmers were already winners. The industry for broilers, which are raised for meat rather than eggs, had been born in Delaware in 1923, and a meatier bird would assuredly boost the state’s output and stature.

Today, the $5 billion-a-year Delmarva chicken industry encompasses more than 1,300 family farmers, 18,000 poultry company employees and hundreds of related businesses for 50,000 total jobs. Such vitality, according to the DCA, is cause for celebration.

Throughout 2023, the trade association has been marking the centennial of this key Delaware agriculture sector’s founding along its own 75th anniversary. Its “Growing for 100 Years” campaign illustrates the evolution and impact of the industry and the DCA’s work. To culminate the festivities, the Delmarva Chicken Festival is returning for a one-time event from 1 to 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland.

“Our focus and the way we serve our members,” notes James Fisher, DCA communications manager, “have changed so much over the years.”

An Advantageous Error

It all started in 1923 when Cecile Steele of Ocean View, Delaware, ordered 50 chicks from Vernon Steen’s Hatchery in Dagsboro. Like most women in rural areas, Steele raised chickens for eggs.

The rare chicken dinner was a tough rooster or a hen that no longer produced eggs. Young, tender chicken was a high-priced luxury item.

But Steen’s hatchery sent Steele 500 chicks instead of 50, and she opted to raise them for meat. It was a daring move at the time.

Eighteen weeks later, Steele had 387 surviving chickens weighing about 2¼ to 2½ pounds, which she sold for 62 cents a pound — about $11 a pound in today’s dollars. The budding entrepreneur ordered 1,000 chicks in 1924. By 1928, she was selling 26,000 birds a year.

Plagued by a series of crop blights, neighboring farmers followed in her footsteps. “There was a receptive audience in Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia,” Fisher says.

A Better Chicken

But a chicken dinner remained too pricy for most consumers, and the Greater Atlantic & Pacific Co. — better known as A&P — and poultry grower influencers decided to do something about it. Enter the Chicken of Tomorrow contest.

The industry wanted a bird with more white meat and larger drumsticks than were typical among the speckled Barred Rock breed favored for eggs and meat at the time. The contest succeeded by leading to the white-plumed bird that is so common today.

While the contest results interested agricultural experts, the first festival’s parade, pageant fireworks and food appealed to the public. When held as an annual event, the festival’s activities continued to be a draw.

For instance, in 1950, the Delmarva Chicken Festival unveiled a 400-pound, 10-foot-wide frying pan capable of cooking a half-ton of chicken. The gargantuan pan was retired in 1987 and donated to the Georgetown Historical Society, where it remains in a museum collection.

Changing Times

In 1962, almost all chicken was sold as whole birds. Thirty years later, parts — breasts, thighs, wings — dominated sales. Also in 1962, farmers sold their flocks at auction. But, increasingly, companies like Perdue Farms began contracting farmers to grow for them, creating a vertical integration system that remains today.

Although the number of Delmarva growers has dropped, technology and efficient business practices have helped the industry do more with fewer growers, Fisher says. For example, it takes 75% fewer resources to produce chickens today than it had in the 1960s, and 95% of poultry litter is now recycled and reused as crop fertilizer.

As the industry changed, so did the DCA, which formerly was known as Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. The trade organization focuses on advocacy, education and outreach to its 1,600 members and promotes initiatives such as a vegetative environmental buffers program and an electric buying group.

The labor-intensive annual festival ceased after the 2014 event, but Fisher says people never stopped asking about it. So the trade association’s 75th anniversary seemed to be the perfect time to bring it back for one day.

The DCA is working with the Greater Salisbury Committee, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the Wicomico Farm Bureau to organize the event, which will feature local food trucks, vendors and children’s activities. The Jones Boys, Jimmy Charles and Mike Hines & The Look will perform live music throughout the day.

Teams from Delmarva’s five chicken companies — Allen Harim Foods, Amick Farms, Mountaire Farms, Perdue Farms and Tyson — will compete in Chicken Capers contests, a medley of field day-style games. The event also will include historical and educational exhibits paying tribute to an industry that drives Delaware’s economic engine.

Sussex County still has more broiler farms than any county in the country, and it all started with Mrs. Steele.

“It’s not often you can trace an entire way of farming or a sector to one person,” Fisher says. “We want to make sure that agriculture and farming don’t lose a place on Delmarva because it’s so important to our history, culture, economy and the way we eat.”

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Innovative DE Ag Projects Receive $665K

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Delaware Department of Agriculture Awards Over $665,000 for Innovative Projects to Improve Food Supply Chain

DOVER, Del.  — The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) today announced it is awarding $665,872 in funding to 12 projects through the First State Food System Program. The program, managed by the Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy, strengthens the local food system by supporting the broad food supply chain spectrum.

“We have had an outstanding response to the funding available through the First State Food System Program, demonstrating the continuing need to strengthen Delaware’s food supply chain infrastructure and create new and expanded markets for our farmers and producers,” said Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse.

The First State Food System Program is designed to highlight the interconnection of systems and processes that shape nutrition, food security, health, community development, and agriculture. Since this program began in 2022, nearly $350,000 has been awarded to projects addressing community food access and approximately $500,000 to projects improving processing capacity across the state.

T.A. Farms, LLC received Cycle 1 funding for their “Poultry Revamping Project.” Producer Elizabeth Carter shared, “We would process roughly 450 birds in about five hours with our old system. Our new system can process about 700 birds in the same amount of time. Especially during our holiday season, this allows us to process the birds efficiently, allowing for a fresher product. The beneficiaries are all the consumers looking for fresh local meat, the organizations we have donated to, and our family members. Creating a physically easier work environment allows our family members to think about the future. It allows us the mindset to think long-term in the meat business.”

Awards are approved to support projects in each county. Each awarded project is designed to help Delaware’s food supply chain. The planned work will focus on one or more of the following: food processing, distribution, community access, and food production. In this year’s funding for Cycle 2:

  • 50% of projects were awarded to Delaware farms.
  • 34% of the projects were awarded to community organizations focused on community development, nutrition education, and food access.
  • Many of the projects related to processing, storage, and distribution include the collaboration of two or more food supply chain operators.

The First State Food System Program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), championed by Delaware’s Congressional Delegation – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, along with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. Passed by Congress, ARPA was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021.

Projects funded in Cycle 2 include the following:

Production

  • Bennett Orchards LLC, Wind Machine Freeze Protection to Mitigate Climate Change Effects and Strengthen Local Fruit Supply

Transportation

  • Marvelous Produce, Strengthening Delaware’s Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain – Farm to End User

Markets and Industry

  • Powers Farm, Farm Store Expansion

Food Waste

  • Food Bank of Delaware, Compact Membrane Fresh Produce Preservation Phase 2

Processing

  • Fifer Orchards, Local Food System – Farm-to-Table Kitchen
  • Dittmar Family Farms LLC, Vegetable Processing and Cold Storage Expansion (Also includes storage and distribution)
  • D & J Custom Cutting, Ready-to-Eat Meat Processing
  • TA Farms LLC, Value-added Products

Storage and Distribution

  • Love-in-Deed Community Development, Food Closet Capacity Building & Super Foods Urban Garden Project

Community Access

  • La Red Health Center, Sussex County Community Fridge Program
  • Teach a Person to Fish Society, Milton Pantry Garden Beds
  • Wilmington Alliance, Growing West Center City: 7th & West Streets Community Garden

Last year, the Historic Lewes Farmers Market (HLFM) received funding for their project – Strengthening the Farm to Pantry Food System in Sussex County. HLFM Volunteer Nancy Staisey stated, “Volunteers and farmers both embraced the expansion of this program. The small farms are very enthusiastic about this program as they can sell more product while being able to feed those in need.”

The Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy plans to open the window for the last round of funding under the First State Food System Program beginning in February 2023. Complete program information can be found at https://farmandfood.delaware.gov.

The Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy strives to facilitate and support a local food system where farmers can access viable markets, Delaware households can access nutritious and wholesome food options within their communities, and where the impacts of supply chain disruptions can be diminished.

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Fisher’s Popcorn to Expand in Delaware

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Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware Chooses Delaware for Major Expansion of Manufacturing and Wholesale Operations

WILMINGTON, Del. – Fisher’s Popcorn, which has produced hand-crafted gourmet popcorn in Delaware for 40 years, has chosen Frankford, Delaware, as the location for a new $4.85 million facility that will more than quadruple space for its manufacturing and wholesale operations.

The company’s current production facility in Fenwick Island, Delaware, is approximately 2,000 square feet, and the new 17-acre site on Delaware Route 20 just off the U.S. Route 113 corridor is almost 10,000 square feet. The additional space will allow Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware to utilize new equipment – including two kettles and a large packaging machine – that will increase production capacity many times over. For example, bag-packing capabilities will rise from eight bags per minute to 30 to 35 bags per minute.

Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware currently has 22 full-time employees staffing its manufacturing, retail, wholesale and e-commerce operations, all of which are in Sussex County. The company plans to create 20 additional wholesale jobs at the new site over the next three years.

“Fisher’s Popcorn has been a part of the Delaware beach experience and the Sussex County business community for 40 years, and we’re glad the company has chosen to expand here for its next phase of growth,” said Governor John Carney. “Delaware is a great place for manufacturing. This new facility will enable Fisher’s Popcorn to better serve its existing customers and grow its production and wholesale operations.”

Fisher’s Popcorn was founded in Ocean City, Maryland, in 1937, and a branch of the founder’s family began operating Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware independent from the original company in 1983. Still family-owned and -operated, Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware has retail shops in the resort towns of Fenwick Island, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach. The company also sells its products online and in more than 2,000 grocery stores across the United States, including many Giant, Weis, Food Lion and Fresh Market locations.

Fisher’s Popcorn officials presented to Delaware’s Council on Development Finance an application for a Jobs Performance Grant of $60,000 and a Capital Expenditure Grant of $145,500 from the Delaware Strategic Fund to support the company’s investment in construction, fit-out costs and new equipment.

Distribution of grants from the Delaware Strategic Fund are dependent on the company meeting commitments as outlined to the CDF, which reviewed and approved Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware’s request for up to $205,500 in total grant funding.

“We’re very grateful for the opportunity to expand our operations while still being part of our local community here in Delaware,” said Vice President Russell Hall, who runs the company’s wholesale and e-commerce divisions. “This expansion will enable us to bring the classic flavors of the Delaware beach resorts to more people around the country while adding quality jobs in Sussex County. The grant assistance from the state is a key component to making this happen.”

Delaware Prosperity Partnership began helping Fisher’s Popcorn explore how it could continue to grow in Delaware in 2022. Providing additional assistance throughout the site search and other location processes was Bill Pfaff, director of economic development for Sussex County.

“We are so excited that Fisher’s Popcorn’s new manufacturing facility is calling Sussex County its home,” Pfaff said.

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About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership (choosedelaware.com) leads Delaware’s efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and support employers in place-marketing Delaware to potential employees. Collaborating with economic development partners throughout the state, the DPP team works with site selectors, executives and developers focused on where to locate or grow a business and helps with reviewing potential sites, cost-of-living analyses and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. DPP advances a culture of innovation in Delaware, working with innovators and startups to connect them with resources and showcase their successes. DPP and its partners support and advance the missions of companies of all sizes and sectors.

About Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware

Fisher’s Popcorn of Delaware (fishers-popcorn.com) got its start in 1937, when Everett Fisher began making and selling copper kettle caramel popcorn on the Ocean City Boardwalk in Maryland. More than 40 years later, Everett’s granddaughter, Marty Fisher Hall, and her husband, Bill, opened the first Fisher’s Popcorn store in Delaware. Today – independent of the Maryland operations since 1983 – the Halls and their children run production and e-commerce operations and Fenwick Island, Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach retail locations along with a wholesale division launched in 2012. Each batch of Fisher’s Popcorn is still made now as it was in 1937, but a wide variety of flavors have been added, including Caramel with Peanuts, Butter-Flavored, White Cheddar, Old Bay®-Seasoned Caramel, Kettle Corn, Caramel Dusted with White Cheddar and the seasonal flavor Caramel Pumpkin Spice.

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B&M Philly Steaks new food production facility

New B&M Meats Chooses Delaware for $18M Food Production Facility

Written on . Posted in Press Releases.

New B&M Meats Chooses Delaware as Home for Expanded Production, Diversified Product Offerings

B&M Philly Steaks new food production facility

December 13, 2021 – 

Will Add 80,000 Square Foot Production Facility and 190 New Food Production Jobs and Help Rejuvenate Wilmington’s Seventh Street Peninsula

WILMINGTON, Del. — New B&M Meats Inc., a leading manufacturer of raw sandwich steaks and chicken steaks in the Northeast United States, is expanding in the City of Wilmington and will invest more than $18 million in the construction of a new 80,000 square-foot food production facility and add 190 new jobs to the city’s food production industry sector over the next several years.

Delaware Prosperity Partnership – Delaware’s nonprofit public-private economic development organization – and Wilmington’s Office of Economic Development began working with New B&M Meats in 2020 to help the company evaluate scenarios for combining operations in the region to achieve its expansion goals.

New B&M Meats presented before the state Council for Development Finance today to request grant funding from the Delaware Strategic Fund. Approval for the grants by the Council helped solidify the company’s decision to grow its Delaware presence through expansion of its current Wilmington location and construction of a new food production facility nearby.

“I want to thank B&M Meats for their commitment to our state and choosing to expand their production in the City of Wilmington,” said Governor John Carney. “These new jobs will support Delaware workers and their families. This announcement once again proves that Delaware is a great place for companies to grow.”

New B&M Meats currently employs 98 people in Wilmington. The company will use a Performance Grant of $195,975 to add 70 jobs to support organic growth at its existing Commerce Street location. The new facility will be completed along East Seventh Street on three parcels of land totaling 10 acres with support from a Capital Expenditure Grant of $555,300. A second Performance Grant of $359,450 will help the company add another 120 jobs at the new site to support increased production capacity, diversified product offerings and operational expansion through entry into new markets. The company plans to start construction on the new facility in 2022 and open it in late 2023 or early 2024.

“We are very excited to welcome New B&M Meats to Wilmington as the company expands to the Seventh Street Peninsula, producing nearly 200 new jobs in the coming years,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “Together with Light Action Production’s new multi-million-dollar sound stage and the new CP Furniture factory, B&M Meats will augment the Seventh Street Peninsula’s unique blend of business park and historic cultural amenities. My thanks to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership as well as Jeff Flynn and his team in Wilmington’s Office of Economic Development for helping to see this project through to fruition. It is just one more example of how Wilmington is on the move, continuing to attract new businesses, jobs, and residents to all parts of our city.”

By 2026, New B&M Meats projects total employment of 288 people between the two Wilmington facilities. New positions will include production line workers; operators; maintenance and production supervisors; and shippers/handlers. The company is currently hiring for positions at the Commerce Street location, and interviews will begin in late 2023 or early 2024 for the Seventh Street facility.

“As one of the largest Philly steak manufacturers in the country, we’re excited to grow our presence in the rapidly growing and vibrant Wilmington community,” said Steve Realbuto, president. “With a strong pool of talent, supportive local and state government, and proximity to critical transportation routes, Delaware is a great place for a manufacturing company to do business.”

“As we were looking for the site of our next facility, the City of Wilmington and State of Delaware were true partners every step of the way,” said Chris Linteris, CFO. “Jeff Flynn assisted us throughout the entire process, from searching for land and planning for development, he provided key introductions to local vendors and stakeholders. We would also like to thank our banking partner, ConnectOne Bank, for support of our continued growth. With these critical partnerships, we plan to continue our investment in the community and develop additional projects in the coming years.”

“B&M is a shining example of the critical role small and mid-size businesses play in fueling the local economies in which they operate,” said Elizabeth Magennis, president of ConnectOne Bank. “We are proud to support B&M in this exciting endeavor – a client committed to creating opportunities to enhance local communities through its own growth and expansion.”

About Delaware Prosperity Partnership

Delaware Prosperity Partnership leads Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support private employers in identifying, recruiting, and developing talent. The DPP team works with site selectors, executives and developers focused on where to locate or grow a business and helps with reviewing potential sites, cost-of-living analyses and funding opportunities, including available tax credits and incentives. DPP advances a culture of innovation in Delaware, working with innovators and startups to spotlight and celebrate successes and connect them with the resources they need to succeed. DPP and its partnerships throughout Delaware support and advance the missions of companies of all sizes and sectors.

About New B&M Meats Inc.

Delaware-based New B&M Meats Inc. is part of the Wonder Meats family of businesses, which also includes Brooklyn Provisions, Broad Street Butcher, Lindee Corned Beef and Nations Best Deli Meats. Wonder Meats began as a family-owned storefront butcher shop in New York City in 1971 and has been based in Carlstadt, New Jersey, since 1994. Company President Steve Realbuto, whose father, Santo Realbuto, opened that first butcher shop 40 years ago, acquired B&M Meats in 2016.

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produce business delaware Suzuki Farms

Suzuki Farm Enters the Next Level of Japanese Produce Business

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Delmar’s Suzuki Farm Entering Next Level of Japanese Produce Business With Purchase by Food’s Style USA

produce business delaware Suzuki Farms

October 12, 2021 – 

Fresh, local produce is a point of pride for the Delmarva Peninsula, which is known for corn, tomatoes, watermelons, lima beans and soybeans. Large farms supply ingredients for poultry feed, while boutique growers deliver to restaurants and frequent farm markets.

But one Delmar-area farm has quietly cornered a niche market — not only in Delaware but also along the East Coast. Suzuki Farms is the rare grower of Japanese herbs, vegetables and citrus.

Japanese Produce Business a Labor of Love

For decades, the produce business has been a labor of love for Ken Suzuki, who was born in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. To take the business to the next level, he turned to Seattle-based Food’s Style USA Inc., which acquired the farm in February 2021. The new owner has hit the ground running.

“We are planning to build a new packing facility and greenhouses to grow more produce and maintain better quality,” says Takahiro Igo, vice president of Food’s Style.

As a result, Delaware may become just as famous for shiso and shishito peppers as it is for chickens.

Spotting a Need

Suzuki, a trained chick sexer, and wife Kumiko came to the United States in 1974 to work for Perdue Farms. Unable to find high-quality, affordable Japanese produce, he began growing his own on a small farm. The hobby wasn’t a stretch: Suzuki had attended an agricultural high school in Japan.

Even so, it wasn’t easy. The fledgling farmer quickly learned that rabbits like edamame, and although the area weather is similar to that in the Miyagi prefecture, Mid-Atlantic cold snaps can wipe out a crop. But Suzuki persisted and, after 20 years in Parsonsburg, Maryland, moved to a Delmar, Delaware, farm.

After Perdue changed its chick sexing methods, Suzuki turned his pastime into a business. However, specializing in Japanese produce requires meticulous attention to detail. For discerning restaurateurs and wholesalers, each yuzu, daikon radish or mustard green must be as beautiful as it is tasty.

Suzuki Farms japanese produce delawareAmong the 30-plus crops are Japanese radish, Napa cabbage, edamame, eggplant and peppers. The bestseller is Tokyo scallion, which is thicker and sweeter than conventional supermarket scallions. Suzuki Farms also sells to individuals, who can order online.

The Perfect Match

In his 70s, Suzuki was looking for the next generation of ownership for his farm. Meanwhile, Food’s Style sought to diversify. Like the entire hospitality industry, the company’s Hokkaido Ramen Santouka restaurants in Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were looking for an opportunity to either take over a business or start a farm of our own,” Igo explains. “‘Stay home’ made people more curious about food safety.”

Mutual contacts put Food’s Style and Suzuki Farm in touch. “We learned that he is popular and famous on the East Coast,” Igo says. “He has been doing business for a long time.”

The founder is staying on to help train employees in the proper techniques. Since the farm is now at production capacity, Food’s Style will be working to increase the output. That means more machinery, more greenhouses and a new packing facility.

It also means cultivating more land. The farm currently has about 35 cultivated acres, and there is room for more fields. Nevertheless, Igo envisions the need for additional acres — hopefully in Delaware.

“Delaware’s state and county agencies,” he notes, “are very friendly to communicate with and very helpful to the small local businesses.”

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O.A. Newton CEO Rob Rider

Rob Rider Leads O.A. Newton to Record Growth

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Rob Rider Leads O.A. Newton to Record Growth

1 October, 2021  | LiveLoveDelaware.com

O.A. Newton CEO Rob Rider

For a business that has constantly reinvented itself over its 104 years in business, O.A. Newton & Son CEO Rob Rider doesn’t even pause when asked about his company’s elevator speech.

“We’re in two businesses – irrigation and farm and ranch products for a local customer base (Delmarva) and engineered material-handling systems on a national and international level,” says the fourth-generation leader (his grandfather Warren Newton was the “& Sons”).

Where many other Delaware businesses have struggled to survive during the pandemic, Rider says his company has been challenged to keep up as its building-product clients experience record sales and look to expand. For Rider, COVID 19 has been a business accelerant that has helped him grow revenues and move from 30 employees to nearly 40.

“Because we’re involved in both manufacturing and agriculture, we have been considered essential from the start, so we never laid anyone off,” he says. “At the beginning, we were getting ready to start a pretty large [composite decking] project and [the client] wouldn’t let us on site for a month. But that turned out to be a blessing because we were a bit behind schedule, and it allowed us to catch up and get the project back on schedule.”

Big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s saw a jump in business as homebound Delawareans decided to start or move forward with projects. As a result, demand for PVC pipe and fencing, vinyl siding, and wood composite decking stayed very strong.

At the same time, O.A. Newton continued to expand a longtime relationship with Miller Metal Fabrication, which leases space from Rider’s company.

“We decided 14 years ago that we didn’t need our employees doing the sheet metal fabrication for our products,” Rider says. “Miller Metal has developed a lot of advanced manufacturing to make our products better at a lower cost.”

For example, a few years ago, O.A. Newton identified a bottleneck in its production process involving a “spray and bake” painting process called powder coating that Miller Metal has been able to resolve. But Rider says client demand for the service has led them to offer the service to others from Harrington as an additional business.

“It’s not innovative and it’s not a new product,” Rider says. “You need to pay attention to what customers are asking for and then meeting the demand. It might only involve six or eight customers but there’s huge volume and we’ll be able to meet the demand together. You have to be ready to adapt.”

That discussion swung around to a question about O.A. Newton’s legacy after more than a century in Sussex County. The company got its start developing a feed for chickens that led to greater egg production, which led to feed-milling and chicken-breeding businesses. Beyond that, there is a dizzying list of businesses that Rob’s father Bob and then Rob himself started in response to customer needs and opportunities that they saw.

The commitment to innovation and being nimble led O.A. Newton to begin building conveyor belts to move the feed they milled in the 1950s. That led to the creation of conveying systems for companies that make plastic pipe and siding and decking and then to offering replacement parts and service when the recession slowed new construction. The company sold the poultry business was sold in 1969, and a parts counter became the O.A. Newton Farm and Ranch Store, essentially a specialty hardware store that recognized the changing demographics in Sussex and Kent counties from fewer large farms to more farmettes and hobby farms.

“As you can imagine, with our market being building products, the recession decimated our customers,” Rider says. “We had to really retrench and rebuild our business. When the housing bubble burst, it forced out a lot of inefficient manufacturing and we’ve seen steady growth since.”

The desire to stay nimble has led O.A. Newton to form partnerships with companies that have what they need, need what they have, or offer the scale to help them sell their products.

Rob Rider Remains an Unbashed Delaware Supporter

Since the start of the pandemic, the company has grown from 30 to nearly 40. Through it all, Rider has remained an unabashed Delaware supporter.

“Delaware has always been an easy place to do business,” he says. “Labor is easy to deal with and it’s easy to get answers. I can’t say that it’s always wonderful from a regulatory standpoint – that’s one of the things we need to work on — but it’s better than most. We’d never consider moving because of the experience we’ve had here.”

O.A. Newton recently shut down branch locations that served retail customers in New Jersey and New York for about 10 years because the “headache of doing business in those states wasn’t worth it. They weren’t terrible experiences, but in both cases, we just decided it wasn’t the right fit for us.”

Rider says he talks to people all the time who are considering renting space in his buildings or buying real estate to build themselves.

“I tell them we have a great workforce and the process to get located here from beginning to end is as easy and convenient as you’re going to get,” he says, adding that he completely supports the efforts of Bob Perkins and the Delaware Business Roundtable’s Ready in Six initiative to accelerate the permitting process.

Before ending the interview, Rider elaborated on his answer about the company’s legacy.

“I would hope that people are saying we’re keeping up with the times and exceeding their expectations, maintaining our relevance in today’s world,” says Rider. “Legacy to me really means reputation and one of the things that is more important than anything is being fair to our customers, our employees, and our community – pretty much in that order.”

“If we are not equally caring for all three of those stakeholders, then we’re not going to continue to exist. When we make decisions, we think about the impact tomorrow and 10 years from now.”

This article was originally posted on LiveLoveDelaware.com at: https://www.livelovedelaware.com/rob-rider-leads-o-a-newton-to-record-growth/

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

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No State Builds Pathways from High School to Jobs as well as Delaware Does: Opinion

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Option: 1

No State Builds Pathways from High School to Jobs as well as Delaware Does: Opinion

7 NOVEMBER, 2019

How can it be that with the lowest unemployment rate in anyone’s memory, the U.S. still has 6.9 jobs seeking workers and 6.3 workers seeking jobs?

There is no single answer, but a big part of the problem is the skills gap – not enough workers with the right skills, especially to fill middle-skill jobs in such fields as health care, IT, and advanced manufacturing.

Many states are building pipeline programs to address this gap, programs that begin in high school, connect to post secondary institutions, and work with employers to ensure that students have the right skills to fill in-demand jobs that can get them launched on fulfilling careers.

No state does this as well as Delaware.

Over these past six years, Delaware has, from a standing start, created a statewide career pathways system that has become a model for the nation. Delaware has grown from 27 students enrolled in an advanced manufacturing program in 2014 to 16,000 students across the state currently enrolled in 25 career pathways in 12 high-growth, high-demand sectors of the state’s economy.

The state is on track to meet its goal of enrolling 20,000 students — half the high school population — in career pathways by 2020.

Delaware’s story is the lead chapter in a new book just published by Harvard Education Press, “Career Pathways in Action: Case Studies from the Field,” written by Nancy Hoffman and myself. This book, and the case study of Delaware Pathways, will be featured in a session at the upcoming annual Vision Coalition Conference Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the University of Delaware.

In a few short years, Delaware Pathways has transformed the education landscape. Career pathways match students’ interests with tailored instruction and relevant work-based learning experiences, and award industry-recognized credentials and college credits while students are still in high school.

These pathways provide on and off ramps for the full spectrum of options. A young person on a health care pathway could use it to decide: a) to become a certified nursing assistant so she can start earning some money while she weighs her options; b) to start working toward becoming a medical doctor; or c) that it isn’t the right field.

The goal is to give program participants enough early exposure to the world of work and careers to make informed decisions about what comes next after high school.

How has Delaware been able to build such a robust career pathways system in such a short time? The secret is partnership.

The collaboration among statewide entities like the departments of Education and Labor, Delaware Technical Community College, the United Way, Rodel and a network of private employers large and small led to the development of a compelling strategic plan specifying the roles and responsibilities of each partner.

This cross-agency structure is unusually strong, and a dedicated core team from the partner organizations has stuck together to implement that plan.

Delaware Pathways is not without its challenges, including the provision of meaningful work-based learning opportunities for all participants and the development of a long-range funding plan.

But with Gov. John Carney leading the effort to bring more employers to the table, the first challenge is being addressed, and given the broad-based political support for the program, I’m confident the funding challenge will be addressed as well.

Delaware, you are currently building what many believe is the most scalable and replicable career pathways model in the nation.

Keep pushing.

The leaders of the other 15 state and regional members of the Pathways Network are all pulling for you because what you build here could not only help your young people, but benefit their peers in states across the United States.

— Robert Schwartz is a professor emeritus of practice in educational policy and administration at Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-founder of the Pathways to Prosperity Network.

Kurt Foreman

PRESIDENT & CEO

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Agribusiness: An Up-Close Look at Delaware’s Farms

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Agribusiness: An up-close look at Delaware’s farms

7 OCTOBER, 2019

In September, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) led its second ag tour, connecting local entrepreneurs and researchers to farmers and other agtech stakeholders to learn from one another and problem solve.

The group started at the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), where they were greeted by Ag Secretary Michael Scuse, then they visited Fifer Orchards in Camden. Bobby Fifer, one of the owner/operators of the farm addressed the group, shared challenges that the farm faces in terms of business and technology and fielded questions from the group. Ed Kee, DPP Board member and former Ag Secretary, also answered questions and spurred on the discussion.

Sec. Kee then led the group to visit farmer Brandon Bonk, who took a break from harvesting corn in one of his fields outside of Frederica to answer questions from the group, ranging from the breadth of technology inside the cab of his combine harvester, to the types of cover crops he uses to seed his fields when not in primary use. Bonk, who farms nearly 5,000 acres with only a modest staff, uses a sophisticated operation to handle the breadth of acreage.

Entrepreneurs and researchers were able to have direct access to farmers and relevant stakeholders to gather information. This is the second farm tour led by DPP, and is part of our organization’s commitment to the AgTech and Ag community in Delaware.

For more information and/or to participate in the next tour (Likely in Spring 2020) email scoulby@choosedelaware.com.

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