黑料福利社

Although it will be a bit later than originally planned, ongoing renovation work at a Sunnyside fruit processing facility should allow its California-based owner to open it this fall.

Andy Kay, CEO of Manzana Products Co., said his company hopes to begin applesauce production at the former Seneca Foods building in Sunnyside by the end of September, with production of the remainder of the company鈥檚 products beginning sometime in 2027.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited 鈥� we can鈥檛 wait to get going later this year and complete the operation by the end of next year,鈥� Kay said Wednesday in an interview with the 黑料福利社.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a while, just getting everything planned, designed and built,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to getting everything completed and started, and being a part of the community for the long term.鈥�

Work is underway both inside and on the outside of the building at 1525 S. Fourth St., Kay said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e doing it in different phases. Because our applesauce will be the first production lines to start running at the end of September of this year, we鈥檙e prioritizing that part of the building,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he apple juice and apple cider vinegar areas of the building will be completed later."

The plan is to be ready and start producing applesauce during harvest this year, he said.

Eventually, there will be 150 people working at Manzana鈥檚 Sunnyside facility, with 70 beginning work by the end of this year and full employment by summer of 2027, when the production facility is fully operational, Kay said.

鈥淥f that 150 (employees), about 135 of those will be new hires,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he remainder will be either people transferring up from our California facility or some of our people working in sales.鈥�

Company history

Established in 1922, is an apple processor in Sebastopol, Calif. 鈥� an area near Santa Rosa known as California鈥檚 鈥淕reen Valley.鈥� It makes organic applesauce, apple juice and apple cider vinegar products that are distributed across the United States and internationally

It is transferring its entire operation to Yakima County as its area in California has switched from apple orchards to become one of the country鈥檚 leading wine-producing regions. Today, Manzana is the only plant left of what used to be 10 apple processing facilities in Sonoma County.

Originally called Oehlmann Evaporator when it was owned by husband-and-wife team Rudolph and Maude Oehlmann, in 1945 the company changed its name to Manzana Products Company, using the Spanish word for apple.

In 2012, the company was acquired by Agrial Group, a French farmer-owned cooperative. Manzana is part of its Eclor SA beverage division, a major European producer of cider and apple juice.

YCDA involvement and state grant

Kay credited Yakima County Development Association officials Jonathan Smith and Joe Schmitt for their help in recruiting Manzana to Sunnyside and in procuring a state grant to help with upgrades to the former Seneca Foods site.

In October, the YCDA announced an investment of $250,000 to improve the 275,895-square-foot facility, with the money originating from the state鈥檚 Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund.

Locating in Yakima County allows Manzana to decrease vehicle emissions, support local farmers, and boost manufacturing capacity to meet demand, Kay noted.

He thanked YCDA, Port of Sunnyside officials and real estate owner/investor Larry Hull for all their help in bringing Manzana鈥檚 operation to Central Washington.

鈥淲e鈥檙e really happy about and indebted to them for the help they鈥檝e given us,鈥� Kay said. 鈥�(The state grant) was in large part due to the cooperation and the support of working with Jon and Joe, who helped us apply, then supported and justified it.鈥�

The YCDA officials also have helped Manzana with the process of connecting with area contractors and suppliers.

Kay said he was happy to 鈥渞eturn the favor a bit鈥� by inviting Smith to Agrial headquarters in France in February.

鈥淲e were able to show Jon our apple operations in France at our big, farmer-owned cooperative,鈥� Kay added. 鈥淗e was able to see the European side of the way that we operate and got to meet some of the management over there as well. That was great.鈥�