Anticipation rampant for possible Heinz deal
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General Heinz contract packaging Heinz Ketchup jobs saved at Heinz tomato juicePossible partial re-opening of Leamington, Ont. Heinz plant could save some of the 740 jobs.
According to Leamington, Ont. mayor John Paterson, there is a good possibility another Canadian company will swoop in to make tomato juice for the beleaguered Heinz company.
In November of 2013, Heinz announced it would close the Leamington plant on June 27, 2014, putting 740 full-time employees out of work, along with hundreds of seasonal workers.
It is great news for Leamington, as the tomato processor has been in the community since 1909 and the heart of the town’s economy for many decades.
Of course, it’s not a done deal yet, and everything is still hush-hush.
If it does indeed come to fruition, the new company would not be replacing Heinz, but would instead be performing third-party processing and packaging for them making tomato juice.
In Canada, makers of tomato juice must make the beverage from whole tomatoes—in the US manufacturers make it from tomato paste—which is one reason why optimism runs high that jobs will remain at the Leamington plant.
If the deal comes to pass, everyone needs to start drinking more tomato juice or hope for more skunk attacks.
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