THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9409010557
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
It's official: Suffolk is still the unofficial peanut capital of the world.
At least, that's the assessment of city leaders, who watched Wednesday as the venerable Mr. Peanut sliced through a ribbon outside the new 220,000-square-foot Planters Peanut Co. manufacturing facility.
The $35 million plant's opening means 400 jobs are secure and staying in the city. It means a shot in the arm for the Virginia economy, and a sparkling new neighbor for one of the city's most blighted downtown communities.
But just as important to city leaders is the apparent commitment from RJR Nabisco, Planters' parent company, that one of the city's oldest and largest corporate residents is settling down.
``It represents a vote of confidence,'' said Gov. George F. Allen, a featured speaker.
The ceremony brought the bigwigs to downtown Suffolk like nothing else could. The governor. The chairman of RJR Nabisco. Nearly every elected official in the city.
And Suffolk's favorite son, former Gov. Mills E. Godwin, was there. (``Our governor,'' the mayor called him.)
All sat baking in the sun, the polished-white building behind them and the smell of roasted nuts wafting through the air.
``This is a great, great day,'' said Suffolk Mayor S. Chris Jones. ``Planters has been synonymous with Suffolk longer than we've all been alive.''
Completed earlier this summer, the plant began operating a month ago and is slowly approaching its capacity of 1 million pounds of nuts a day. It is one of two Planters nut-processing operations - packing cans and bags of peanuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower kernels, walnuts, almonds and other products.
With the plant already churning out Planters' products, Wednesday's ceremony had more symbolism than significance. Allen wore a peanut pin on his lapel. Goober jokes abounded.
But Suffolk officials haven't always been smiling about the city's relationship with Planters.
The company has long been at the center of Suffolk's downtown commerce. The eight-story Johnson Avenue plant, which founder Amedeo Obici built in 1913, expanded three times as Planters became Suffolk's biggest employer and the largest peanut processing center in the world.
But in 1988, the company announced that it would bolt Suffolk and close the plant down. The plan was scrapped three months later, but four years of uncertainty ensued.
The company made, then canceled, plans to build a $138 million processing plant outside of town; its corporate parent was sold; a new cleaning and blanching building opened - amidst layoffs, downsizing and rumors of a corporate pullout.
The company ended speculation about its future in the city in 1992, when it announced plans to build the new, $35 million facility. The city government pledged $5 million to repair roads and sewers, and to demolish the aging plant. It was given a 150-acre parcel of suburban industrial land Planters had bought for earlier expansion plans.
The city also will build a parking lot where the old plant stands and will lease it to Planters for at least the next 20 years. With the rent and the value of the industrial property, the deal ultimately will cost the city closer to $1.5 million.
Even Jones concedes most companies would have abandoned the downtown location. The gridlock often created by trucks, trains and local residents has become legendary by Suffolk standards. And much of the city's violent crime and drug traffic are concentrated within a half-mile radius of the plant.
But Planters already has a trained work force in Suffolk and convenient access to the Virginia and North Carolina peanut farms. So when they saw the city's offer, corporate negotiators agreed the Suffolk/Planters marriage was worth salvaging.
``The reason comes down to competition,'' said RJR Nabisco Chairman Mike Harper, who also spoke at the ceremony. ``This cooperation has resulted in something we both want.
``We have a history here, and a leading market share in Planters. And we plan to keep it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JOHN H. SHEALLY II/Staff
RJR Nabisco Chairman Mike Harper speaks at the opening of a Planters
Peanut Co. facility in Suffolk.
by CNB