Jun 5, 2018

Equipment auction set for large fruit processing, packaging plant

The team of Schneider Industries, New Mill Capital and Smith Food Machinery has been engaged to sell the equipment assets of Seneca Foods fruit processing and packaging plant in Modesto, CA.  Seneca announced the closure of the plant in February 2018. Primarily producing canned apricots, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, and colored cherries; the plant is one of the largest single location fruit processing and packaging operations in the world.

The sale of assets will consist of thousands of pieces of equipment used for fruit receiving, processing, packaging and plant support.  Inspections are currently available by appointment with offers being taken on equipment prior to the auction set for fall 2018.

The approximately 1,846,000 square foot facility features raw receiving, extraction, syrup production, evaporation, stainless processing, decanters, optical sorting lines, blanching, (23) can filling and seaming lines, (28) can cooker coolers, a hydrostatic can cooker, a complete cherry coloring plant, a complete fruit cocktail plant, slicing, dicing, secondary packaging, and all plant support.

“This one is as big as it gets.”, said Eric Weiler, Principal of New Mill Capital. “When you walk into the plant, it takes you an hour just to begin to understand the size and amount of equipment involved. It’s a tremendous opportunity to offer this plant to the fruit processing world.”

The plant is located at 2801 Finch Road in Modesto, California 95354.  The auction to be scheduled in the fall will likely consist of two days onsite/webcast for processing and packaging equipment followed by two days online only for plant support equipment. Additional information can be found at www.schneiderind.com and www.newmillcapital.com. Prospective buyers are urged to schedule early inspection appointments.

“The demand for quality used equipment has been heavy in 2018 and there is plenty of it in Modesto.”, said Dan Rosenthal, COO of Schneider Industries. “It’s a real credit to the Seneca team and maintenance program to maintain this plant the way they did. We’re close to releasing an inventory list of the major assets and expect a strong response from food processors and canning operations around the world.”

New Mill Capital is a privately held manufacturing asset acquisition and disposition firm specializing in food & beverage plant equipment auctions and turnkey acquisitions. New Mill is a national leader in the sale of idle plant equipment and has also acquired and repurposed over 13,000,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities since 2011.

Schneider Industries has 25 years of experience marketing and auctioning equipment and commercial real estate. Schneider Industries provides creative, efficient asset sale solutions to a wide variety of industries worldwide.

Smith Food Machinery is a family owned supplier of quality pre-owned food processing and packaging machinery with over 25 years of experience. Smith Food Machinery is located in Stockton, California.