Beech-Nut breaks ground at site

By KERRY McAVOY, The Leader-Herald
FLORIDA — Rain didn’t stop Hero/Beech-Nut representatives, local officials and state leaders from celebrating the start of new construction Wednesday.

Hero/Beech-Nut conducted a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of its 550,000-square-foot, $124 million baby-food factory in the Florida Business Park on Route 5S.

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, congressional candidate Paul Tonko, state Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, and various county officials attended the event.

Hero/Beech-Nut President and CEO Christoph Rudolf welcomed guests to the new site and thanked people and organizations for helping the company through the planning process.

Rudolf said the new Beech-Nut will benefit the area.

“The growth and success at Hero/Beech-Nut also will generate growth and success for New York state and Montgomery County, for the community and for our hard-working employees,” Rudolf said.

Beech-Nut plans to move its Canajoharie and Fort Plain operations to the new site.

Beech-Nut will retain more than 350 jobs from Canajoharie and 15 from the Fort Plain facility. The company also plans to create up to 135 new jobs.The new facility should be completed by fall 2009.

Silver said it was great to see Hero keep Beech-Nut in the area. He said after touring the area to view the damage from the 2006 flood in Canajoharie, he was unsure whether the company would stay.

“Hero could have chosen to move Beech-Nut out of state, but instead chose to honor the old partnership between Beech-Nut and New York state,” Silver said.

Silver said the new Beech-Nut factory will help the entire county. He said local farmers, truckers, construction workers and others will benefit from the company staying in the county.

“The entire economic food chain of the region will be helped,” Silver said.

Farley said good jobs will come with the new facility. He said it was a positive sign to see the company growing after undergoing ownership changes and other problems.

“I’ve seen Beech-Nut go through tough times, but I am thrilled to have you here in New York state and here in Montgomery County,” Farley said.

Also at the event were several local and regional union leaders. Union representatives had been critical of the company until earlier this month.

Tonko said it was a good sign to see them there.

“I think it’s wonderful. Our goal was to retain and grow jobs in the region, and good-paying jobs at that,” Tonko said after the ceremony.

Silver said the facility could create up to 400 jobs for New York state contractors and construction workers.

Beech-Nut will receive about $104.5 million in state funding, including $18 million for construction, machinery and equipment costs.

The company also will be eligible for state Empire Zone benefits.

Beech-Nut will have a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency. The company will not have to pay property taxes for the first 13 years of the facility.

The company is moving quickly to get the project completed on time.

Beech-Nut received the green light to start the project six days before Wednesday’s ground-breaking when the town Planning Board approved the company’s site plan. Many people thanked the Planning Board for the work it put into the project.

Rudolf said he wanted to thank the Planning Board for its support and diligence throughout the process.

Town Supervisor Bill Strevy thanked the members of the board for the hard work and long hours it put in to move the process along.

Construction crews from Rifenburg Construction in Troy will begin excavation on the site in the next few days.

The Hero Group, based in Switzerland, is the parent company of Beech-Nut. The Hero Group acquired Beech-Nut in 2005.



Kerry McAvoy covers Montgomery County. She can be reached at montco@leaderherald.com.