Dole salad plant will not open this winter

Dole Fresh Vegetables will not be opening its salad processing plant in Yuma this winter, according to a recorded telephone message at the office.

“This message is to inform all of Dole employees that unfortunately, Dole will not be reopening the value-added facility for this season and will not be recalling any employees to work,” the message states.

The message further states that a notice was sent on Friday to all Dole employees further explaining Dole’s suspension of operations at the Yuma facility.

“At this time, Dole is unable to determine when or if the Yuma facility will reopen in the future,” the message states.

The salad plant in Yuma, which had been in operation since the early 1990s, operated seasonally during the Yuma-area’s winter produce season, with more than 500 employees.

An e-mail sent to Dole by the Yuma Sun Wednesday seeking more information about the decision and Dole’s future plans for its vegetable production in the Yuma area bounced back as undeliverable.

However, the Californian in Salinas, Calif., reported Wednesday that Dole’s workers at the company’s plant in Soledad, Calif., will now take over Yuma’s workload to work year-round.

The Californian quoted Dole spokesman Marty Ordman, who said: “We analyzed our business and our customer needs and believe this was the best thing to do for the operation.”

Most of the seasonal workers in Soledad are not the same workers who were employed at the Yuma plant, Ordman was quoted saying.

The Californian further reported that despite the closure of the Yuma plant, Dole’s commodity business and cooling operation in Yuma will remain open.

According to its website, Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of Dole Food Co.,  sources vegetables from 10 independent growers in Arizona and 38 independent growers in California as well as two in Ohio, two in Florida and one in Canada.

The company also has packaged salad plants in Springfield, Ohio, and in Bessemer, N.C., to serve the East Coast market.