Black River Produce buys old Ben & Jerry’s plant

Black River Produce wants to have more meat with its vegetables. The North Springfield-based produce firm has purchased the former Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. building in North Springfield and plans to put its meat processing facility there.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120321/NEWS02/703219928

Published March 21, 2012 in the Rutland Herald
Black River Produce buys old Ben & Jerry’s plant in North Springfield for meat facility

By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer

NORTH SPRINGFIELD — Black River Produce wants to have more meat with its vegetables.

The North Springfield-based produce firm has purchased the former Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. building in North Springfield and plans to put its meat processing facility there.

The town of Springfield, which purchased the dilapidated industrial building at a tax sale about three years ago, sold the building to Black River Produce for $125,000, and the company said the total cost of the project will be $1 million.

Sean Buchanan, project manager for Black River Produce, said the company’s meat business was growing.

“We need more processing, we need more storage,” said Buchanan, who said that after renovations to the 40,000-square-foot building, there would be room for other companies with similar food processing space needs.

Buchanan, a professional chef, said Black River Produce’s business expanded years ago beyond its original sales list of vegetables and fruit.

Now it sells everything from vegetables to flowers to Vermont-made fruitcakes and power bars and quality meats and cheeses.

Buchanan said that about eight new employees would work at the facility.

Steve Birge, president of Black River Produce, said the company had been looking to build an addition to its North Springfield headquarters but that the Fairbanks Road building was a good solution to its space problems — and cheaper.

Springfield Town Manager Robert Forguites said that while the price for the building was low, it was a good move for the town to get the building back on the tax rolls.

Forguites said there had been a lot of vandalism to the building on the inside over the years and to have Black River come in and renovate it was a great solution.

Forguites said the town bid on the building during a tax sale with an eye toward getting it productive as soon as possible.

He said the town had to have the doors welded shut to keep out vandals, who targeted the copper plumbing and electrical wiring for salvage.

The building was last occupied by the Ellsworth Ice Cream Co. after taking it over from Ben & Jerry’s, which used to make its famous Peace Pops in North Springfield as well as bulk containers for its scoop shops. Ben & Jerry’s closed its North Springfield operation in 2002, consolidating at its St. Albans plant. Ellsworth closed in 2007 and its equipment was sold at auction, Forguites said.

The building was probably built in the 1960s, Forguites said, and it was used by Riefenhauser-NABCO, which made plastics-extruding machinery.

Buchanan said the facility would have a functional butcher shop and that Black River would be bringing in whole animals and cutting them to order for chefs.

He said Black River hoped to expand its relationship with local meat-producing farms and cooperatives and to expand the quality meat market.

“Training will definitely be part of it,” he said.

Black River Produce now gets most of its meat from a Vergennes slaughterhouse, and he said the facility would not be handling poultry.

“Our plans are to get in there this week,” Buchanan said.

Birge said the purchase of the former Ben & Jerry’s site was not related to the proposed Winstanley wood-fired power plant, which is touting a steam thermal loop through the North Springfield Industrial Park as an important offshoot.

“We think there’s opportunities,” Birge said, and Winstanley’s project “wasn’t a factor” in its decision to locate in the park.

Black River Produce moved to the former Idlenot Farm Dairy complex in 2004 from Proctorsville.