Posted on 04/03/2011 7:49:07 AM PDT by massmike
Paul Hooper of Framingham found a good job at the Breyers factory on Old Connecticut Path 10 years ago, where he kept the ice cream production line supplied with fruit and nuts.
Norfolk resident Tom Abdou brought his electrician skills to the plant, while Franklin's Marie Ouellette enjoyed her spot on the production line.
All three became part of a large team of close-knit employees who churned out as many as 1 million gallons of ice cream a day.
But workers had to say their goodbyes this week when the production plant, which opened as a Sealtest factory in 1964, closed after 47 years. Nearly two years ago Breyers' parent company, Unilever, notified staff and the public of the planned shutdown. Unilever said it could make ice cream more cheaply elsewhere.
"It's kind of a bittersweet ending," Abdou said Wednesday. "It's like anything else: You know it's coming and then it hits you."
Yesterday was supposed to be the last day for the bulk of the plant's 174 workers.
They were instead sent home with their last paychecks a day early.
(Excerpt) Read more at metrowestdailynews.com ...
One place is right here in Huntington, Indiana.
It appears that the ‘plant’ was regulated out of the business coupled with the ‘sky-rocketing’ water/sewer rates.
Another result of the out-of-control Government leftist whackjobs that this nation as been plagued with for decades.
No mention at all regarding a Union.
The comments in the original article imply that the plant closing was due to the high costs of disposal of what the state called “industrial waste”, but which was really just water with a tiny bit of ice cream in it. The commenters argue that the costs were inflated because of a state policy to centralize sewage treatment at a facility far away. Sound like Breyers would have been better off treating their own waste water.
Corporate-speak for not having the courage to name the real cause(s) for the closure.
Was this a union shop? One of the comments after the article mentioned the high cost of water in the area as being the reason.
“The comments in the original article imply that the plant closing was due to the high costs of disposal of what the state called “industrial waste”...”
I saw that after I voted. I still blame the unions though...they helped install the Democrats, who passed those stupid laws.
The story of Huntington’s ice cream plant, still on the same site downtown, of course with buildings modernized over the years:
Huntington is believed to be the first city west of the Alleghenies to manufacture ice cream commercially and supplied its product to the Chicago World Fair in 1893.
The enterprise was founded in 1876 as the Collins Ice Cream company by E.A. Collins. The Collins plant shipped ice cream from Huntington to larger cities in Indiana. In 1887, a branch was established in Chicago.
W.A. Klepper and E.L. Martin formed a partnership in 1916 which became Cloverleaf Creameries Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of creamery butter in the Midwest.
Ownership of the company has changed hands several times over the years, including a lengthy period when the plant went by the Sealtest name. It is currently operated by Good Humor-Breyers.
Dairies and ice cream plants wastewater can have a high Biochemical Oxygen Demand and utilities will charge for every pound over a certain limit to treat it.
Blue Bell in Brenham Texas is still going strong.
Great Ice cream and it’s great to watch it out sell lefty Ben/Jerry’s.
a.k.a. a less taxed, less unionized plant in Covington, Tennessee.
Interesting ...
“sent home a day early to avoid mischief”
Exactly. Smart business move.
My old stomping grounds. Speen St. and Old Conn. Path. Next what became (and then unbecame) Prime Computer. Across the pike was a circus tent sort of thing. I remember going there with my big sister when she wanted to get tickets to see The Doors. But they cancelled. Then the place burned down.
And when Breyers first hit the market, it was THE best ice cream you could buy.
I am almost 99% certain Breyers is a union shop. Sad.
They don’t really mention it directly, but Framingham uses the MWRA for its water supply (Massachusetts Water Resource Authority) and it is one of the most nepotistic, union crony, bureaucracy encrusted entities in the state. I agreed with the efforts to clean up Boston Harbor (which really, REALLY needed it) but everything does have its price, and the increase in the power and bureaucracy of the MWRA is one of them.
Additionally, Framingham has been turning into a third-world pit for the past twenty years, and that transition is nearly complete. You would never walk through the downtown at night now, and driving through it is unnerving. Streetlights out, bars on windows, hookers, dingy buildings and trash on the streets, one of those places. It used to be a nice middle-class town, safe and clean. No more.
If I could leave this state, I probably would. I love the area, the history, the climate, the geography and such, but I hate seeing the cumulative effects of 50 years of liberalism having real effects now. It is like watching someone die slowly from cancer. Every day, another company leaves, and the electorate continues to vote in people like Deval Patrick.
My wife does not see things the same way I do, and I doubt she would ever leave, so...I am with her. For better or worse...I stay with her.
Wow. I know it's really hard to leave a comfortable community situation, but opportunities will continue to dry up for, as one put it, a "nice, middle-class job". Why not take your family to a part of the country that has a much better long term outlook for a broad range of opportunities? Get while the gettin's good!
"I'm going to take this summer off," said warehouse manager Anand Kohli, 57, a nearly 20-year employee who lives in Mansfield. He said the break won't feel like a vacation, though. "In the back of the mind, it's always there: You don't have a job."
This is probably not wise depending on his situation because the other plant workers will land the limited number of open positions in that area, unless he's doing what this next person is doing, going into business for them self:
"At (my) age now it's hard for us to get a job," said Ouellette, the Franklin employee who worked as a machine operator/ice cream maker for seven years. "A lot of us don't have much schooling and that makes it difficult. I plan to...take some schooling for dog grooming. It's something I'll be able to do at home.
Perfect little low cost, low overhead venture - unless the regulations are prohibitive in that liberal cesspool.
Thanks - there was a pretty informative comment below the original article about the MWRA explaining how the funding changed and all. Your description of the changes in the town over the years is really good - nice analogy - sorry for your loss.
Agreed. I destest Ben & Jerry’s. I don’t care how the ice cream tastes or how much it costs, I cannot stomach even a single penny going to their leftist coffers.
Why do they need very much water to make icecream? I thought it was made from milk.
All food and beverage plants use large amounts of water for cleaning.
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