San Joaquin Valley to be home to Sunkist’s Citrus Juice and Oil Business

September 20, 2007, Ontario and Tipton, Calif…..Sunkist Growers is consolidating its Citrus Juice & Oil operations, which process citrus fruit into juice and other byproducts. The lemon processing operations currently housed in Ontario, California will move to Sunkist’s state-of-the-art processing facility in Tipton, California, which currently focuses on processing oranges and tangerines.

“By consolidating the two operations in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley citrus- growing area, we achieve greater economies of scale and increased efficiencies,” said Ted Leaman, Vice President of Sunkist’s Juice and Oil business. “The Tipton facility is a newer, more modern facility.”

The shortage of lemons caused by the freeze this past January makes this the optimum time for Sunkist to accomplish this consolidation. The bulk of the current season’s lemon crop will be sold into the fresh market, leaving very little fruit for byproducts. Sunkist will contract for what processing capacity is needed until March 2008 when the new lemon lines are expected to be up and running at Tipton. Post-processing functions are expected to continue at the Ontario plant for about a year, until the move is complete.

The Sunkist plant has been a fixture for many years, anchoring a large portion of Sunkist Street in east Ontario. Built in 1926, the complex is home to the plant that processes citrus juices, oils and aromas, and, until recently, Sunkist’s Research facilities where many of the innovations found in today’s citrus packinghouses were invented. The Tipton facility was built in 1981 and its operations have been continually upgraded.

Sunkist Citrus Juice & Oil is a leading supplier of value-added citrus products and has staked out a successful niche in its line of citrus byproducts. “Not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice is a key market,” said Leaman, “and Sunkist supplies fresh quality juice to the major brands – with a West Coast shipping advantage.” To accommodate this sales stream, Sunkist made a significant investment in a 6 million gallon aseptic tank farm four years ago at the Tipton plant that allows it to supply NFC to major customers on a year-round basis.

“In addition to the NFC storage upgrade, increased evaporation capacity and juice debittering and de-oiling systems have improved the value of the operation,” said Leaman. Sunkist's Tipton facility, which occupies 17 acres, “has the most technologically advanced orange juice processing capability in the world,” he emphasized.

So what does having a world’ class processing facility mean to Sunkist grower-owners? Leaman gives a three-pronged answer. “First, they enjoy income for their lowest grade fruit, fruit that could not be sold in the fresh market. Secondly, the entire crop is removed from the trees before another growing season begins. And finally, packinghouses are able to immediately move the juice fruit from the end of the line so they can continue to pack the highest quality fruit coming in their front doors from the groves.”

“Bottom line,” said Leaman, “Sunkist is utilizing our members’ fruit at the highest margin. And we’re on track with our strategy to become a leading supplier of value-added citrus products…and we are now regarded as a high quality juice producer on the West Coast.”

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