THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412020523
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. sold its defunct Jif peanut butter plant in Portsmouth for a fraction of its assessed value to a Tennessee real estate investor.
Fred R. Langley of Knoxville bought the 21-acre plant at 3600 Elm Avenue for $460,000 at an auction held this week. He buys industrial properties nationwide.
Portsmouth city records for 1994-95 assess the total property at $1.85 million. But a private appraisal listed the property at $2.2 million.
Procter & Gamble had a hard time selling the peanut butter-making plant, which was on the market for 18 months, said Pat Mumey, managing partner at Virginia Commercial Real Estate Services, who handled some of the property's advertisement.
Since the plant was vacated this January, only one buyer had approached the household goods manufacturer with an offer, which the company deemed unacceptable. Procter & Gamble decided to auction the plant.
The property's heavily industrial location, near the U.S. Naval Shipyard, and its design and size specifications discouraged potential buyers, Mumey said.
``It's unusable for most people,'' he said. ``The design was for making peanut butter. It didn't fit anyone it was shown to.''
Procter & Gamble closed its the facility in June 1993, one of only two manufacturing facilities of Jif peanut butter. It consolidated its manufacturing operation at its Lexington, Ky., plant, the larger and more productive unit.
Seventy-five employees worked at the plant when it closed. Some retired, some relocated to other Procter & Gamble plants or found jobs at other local companies with help from Procter & Gamble.
The Ohio company has owned the plant since 1931. It used the plant to make Jif and another brand of peanut butter since 1957.
Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. sold its defunct Jif peanut butter plant in Portsmouth for a fraction of its assessed value to a Tennessee real estate investor.
Fred R. Langley of Knoxville bought the 21-acre plant at 3600 Elm Avenue for $460,000 at an auction held this week. He buys industrial properties nationwide.
Portsmouth city records for 1994-95 assess the total property at $1.85 million. But a private appraisal listed the property at $2.2 million.
Procter & Gamble had a hard time selling the peanut butter-making plant, which was on the market for 18 months, said Pat Mumey, managing partner at Virginia Commercial Real Estate Services, who handled some of the property's advertisement.
Since the plant was vacated this January, only one buyer had approached the household goods manufacturer with an offer, which the company deemed unacceptable. Procter & Gamble decided to auction the plant.
The property's heavily industrial location, near the U.S. Naval Shipyard, and its design and size specifications discouraged potential buyers, Mumey said.
``It's unusable for most people,'' he said. ``The design was for making peanut butter. It didn't fit anyone it was shown to.''
Procter & Gamble closed the facility in June 1993. It was one of only two manufacturing facilities of Jif peanut butter. It consolidated its manufacturing operation at its Lexington, Ky., plant, the larger and more productive unit.
Seventy-five employees worked at the plant when it closed. Some retired, some relocated to other Procter & Gamble plants or found jobs at other local companies with help from Procter & Gamble.
The Ohio company has owned the plant since 1931. It used the plant to make Jif and another brand of peanut butter since 1957. ILLUSTRATION: Map
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by CNB