Contact: Susan Barnes
707-888-2647
February 14, 2024
Manzana Products Co., Inc. (Manzana) announced today plans to locate a new apple processing facility at a 275,895 square foot industrial building in Sunnyside. The building is zoned for industrial use and was long used in previous years as a fruit processing facility. Manzana executed a long-term lease of the building with Larry Hull at Megalodon LLC through Scott Kupperman at Kupperman Location Services.
“We would like to thank everybody who has helped us get to this point and we are excited to start construction on our new Sunnyside facility, especially Sunnyside, Yakima County and Washington state officials. We plan to move all our operations to Yakima County by December 2025,” said Andy Kay, Manzana CEO. “Washington is the “Capital” of West Coast apple production, and we look forward to being in the heart of the bountiful Washington apple orchards,” added Kay.
“Yakima County Development Association (YCDA) worked closely with Manzana representatives throughout the site selection process,” said Jonathan Smith, Executive Director. “We are grateful the company chose to locate their new facility in Sunnyside.”
Manzana’s current apple processing facility is in Sebastopol, California where Manzana has processed apples into apple sauce, cider and vinegar for over 100 years. Sebastopol is in Sonoma County, California which is one of the country’s leading wine producing regions. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Gravenstein Apples dominated the Sonoma County agricultural landscape with the area known as “The Gravenstein Apple Capital of the World.” Over the years, grape vines began to replace apple orchards. One by one, apple processing plants closed. Today, Manzana is the only plant left in Sonoma County where 10 apple processing plants used to thrive.
“Manzana fits perfectly in our agriculture and manufacturing cluster” said Jay Hester, Executive Director with the Port of Sunnyside. “The facility will bring family wage jobs to Sunnyside and positively impact our community well into the future. We are grateful to have been a part of the recruitment process.”
According to Kay, during 2024, Manzana will be clearing the Sunnyside building and then equipping the facility to accommodate operations and house the new company headquarters. Manzana anticipates limited production will begin in the fall of 2024 to take advantage of the apple season. In 2025, Manzana will continue developing the site and will phase in production lines with all production to operation in Sunnyside by the end of 2025.
Construction on the building interior will be completed in phases and is planned to be completed fully within 18 – 24 months (about 2 years). After moving all operations to Sunnyside, the facility will be in full production by the end of 2025 with 150 employees onsite.
City Manager Elizabeth Alba expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership, stating, "We are thrilled to welcome Manzana Corporation to Sunnyside and the Port of Sunnyside Industrial Park. This collaboration is a testament to our city's commitment to fostering economic development and creating job opportunities for our community. We believe that Manzana Corporation's presence will contribute significantly to the continued growth and prosperity of Sunnyside."
Part of the Manzana move to Sunnyside includes an expansion for Manzana’s capabilities which includes an additional pouch line for apple sauce. The expansion will also include new equipment for more versatility such as creating the ability to produce items like variety packs of sauce in various formats. The Sunnyside facility will allow Manzana to run additional shifts to accommodate growth and expansion as needed.
The move to Washington is expected to create 150 agricultural jobs over the next five years as operations are phased in during the move. In addition, the construction work and fitting of the Sunnyside facility will involve hundreds of construction and consulting jobs locally. Many generations of employees from local families have worked at Manzana over the last century. Manzana has a reputation for investing in employees, providing opportunities and good benefits to employees.
“We welcome Manzana Products to Yakima County and appreciate the job opportunities this decision will provide for the people of the Lower Yakima Valley. Thank you to all local partners who worked to make this move a reality!” – Yakima County Commissioner LaDon Linde
Manzana is an historic apple cannery in Sebastopol, California’s Green Valley. From its humble beginnings in 1922 as a small fruit drying operation, today Manzana makes organic apple sauce juice and apple cider vinegar products that are distributed across the United States and throughout multiple countries around the globe.
Originally called Oehlmann Evaporator when owned and operated by husband-and-wife team, Rudolph and Maude Oehlmann, in 1945 the company’s name was changed to Manzana Products Company. Manzana is the Spanish word for apple.
Posted February 14, 2024
