AIS-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 25,1985
BY MARGIE FUSCO,
Staff Correspondent
NORTHUMBERLAND -
Although its |5 million in pur
chases don’t really make it a
major force in the state’s
vegetable market, Furman Foods,
Inc., has earned a statewide
reputation as a “producer’s
processor” and a friend of Penn
sylvania agriculture.
“Furman is a good outfit to grow
for. They realize the growers are
the ones who put the tomatoes in
the cans,” says Joe Anchor, a
third-generation farmer. Joe and
his father are among the 322 far
mers who will do contract growing
for Furman Foods, Inc.
In 1984 these farmers, most of
whom live within a 50-mile radius
of the Northumberland, Penn
sylvania, plant, realized $5 million
from 4,312 acres they planted.
Nearly two-thirds of the acreage
was in tomatoes, with the
remainder in peas, snap beans,
and peppers.
“Our product starts with the
grower,” says David Geise,
president of the company and
third-generation food processor.
“What sets us apart from other
processors is that we contract for a
number of acres, not for a certain
volume. We’re not going to leave
our growers with a large volume in
the field. The farmer takes the risk
of growing and dealing with the
weather. We owe it to them to take
the risk in the marketplace. We
feel it’s a pretty good balance.”
Although the bumper tomato
crop in 1984 has left the firm with a
large surplus of canned tomato
products, Geise has no second
thoughts about the acreage
system. “Last year the grower
made out,” he says. “Maybe this
year will be more to our ad
vantage. We both come out ahead
in the long run, and that’s what’s
important.”
Geise notes that the company
also works to be consistent in its
standards for crops. “On a long
year, we’re not going to change our
standards and leave the grower
holding produce. We want to put
out a consistent, high-quality
product,” he says, but adds that on
short years the firm ma/’lower
their standards somewhat to take
the produce that’s available.
Geise’s grandfather, John
Wesley Furman, left the blasting
powder mines in 1918 and
borrowed money to buy a farm in
Tuckahoe Valley, now called
Northumberland. He worked
nights on the railroad and farmed
during the day.
When he produced a good tomato
crop in 1921, Furman found he
couldn’t sell it all. Store owners
suggested that he can the rest of
his crop and sell it for winter.
That first year Furman and his
wife processed 360 glass jars of
tomatoes on their kitchen stove.
The 30 dozen jars sold, and local
stores began to ask for more. Soon
the J.W. Furman Cannery had
grown into an industry and began
offering lines of other fresh packed
vegetables as well as tomatoes.
In 1944, J.W. Furman turned the
business over to two of his sons and
two sons-in-law, including David
Geise’s father Norman. In the next
year, the business packed 77,000
cases of produce. In 1969, that
number passed the one million
mark. Today Furman Foods, Inc.,
produces three million cases of
food with 165 items under 1370
labels.
In 1980, Furman Foods acquired
a processing plant in Allentown.
“When we bought it, we didn’t
have a clear idea of where the
produce would come from,” Geise
admits. The produce, it turned out,
was in their own backyard.
Ten miles to the north, in Milton,
American Home Foods was
making a tough economic
decision. After years of using
locally grown tomatoes in their
Chef Boy-ar-dee products, the
company was going to shift to the
used by Furman Foods, Inc.
less expensive California market,
and drop its local growing
program.
Joe Anchor and his father were
among the local farmers who were
losing out. “We just couldn’t
compete with the west coast,” Joe
recalls. After 30 years of tomato
growing, they were looking for a
new market when Furman an
nounced it would like to get in-
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Processors and their contract growers: PciPITICPS deal
volved, to supply produce to the
new Allentown facility.
In addition to picking up local
growers, Furman was able to hire
two former American Home Foods
field men. Anchor says, “They got
two of the best men in the
business.” Ne notes that they are
very responsive to the farmers’
needs.
Subsequently, Furman Foods
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made the decision to incorporate
the Allentown facility into the
Northumberland site and un
dertook a $9 million expansion. The
expansion has included adding two
new evaporators, the first in the
Eastern United States, that can
save 50% of on energy over other
cooking methods and can process
90 tons of tomatoes every hour.
The expansion has also allowed
The receiving area at Furman’s -- a new line, soon to
receive fresh produce, stands in foreground, while Idft rear,
are two evaporators which process 90 tons of tomatoes an
hour during peak season.
that insures full and even
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the company to go from four to
seven filling lines and has given
the firm the capacity to process
106,000 lbs. of food per hour during
peak season.
While looking forward, Furman
Foods savors its strong ties to the
past. It is primarily a family in
dustry, with the fourth generation
now coming in. The organization
opens every board meeting with a
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