Portland pickle plant to close

By Associated Press Published: Feb 13, 2008 at 4:22 PM PST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Bay Valley Foods said Wednesday it will close its Portland pickle plant in June.

The plant has 88 employees. An adjacent distribution center will not be affected.

The company, which is owned by TreeHouse Foods Inc., said that pickle volumes in Portland have dropped, making the plant its most expensive but least utilized site.

Current production at Portland will be absorbed by other Bay Valley Foods facilities.

The Portland plant first opened in 1979 as Steinfeld's Products Co. The plant was acquired in 1999 by Dean Specialty Foods Group, which was spun off to Dean Foods shareholders in June 2005 as a separate public company and renamed TreeHouse Foods Inc.

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