Lancaster farming., May 25, 1985, Image 19

v _ * Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 25,1985-Al9
ith weather 9 Furman risks the market p s ""w | "Wf l P|
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prayer and scripture reading. that by His grace we continue to This reverence does not mean
Geise explains, “We believe we work together as a family. God is the firm is out of step. At a recent
operate with the help of God, and our coach and constant helper.” employee meeting, videotapes of
Completed products stand ready for labeling and shipping. After an order is received,
cans will be labeled and shipped.
Bravo 500.
yield
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Cans are filled with baked beans in this production line at
Furman Foods, Inc.
companies highlight with the “In
Search of Excellence” book and
television series were shown, and
Geise notes, “We can stack up
pretty well with the excellent
companies.”
Furman employees share m the
company through a stock
ownership plan. They are also
invited to contribute suggestions
for change and improvement.
“Our people are more than
hands,” Geise says. “They have
good ideas. Ideas shouldn’t come
from management down. Our
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people are more famililar with
their jobs than management is.
They know how to make the line
work better or the crops grow
better. We rely on them to tell us ”
Geise characterizes the
operation as “a marketing-run
company.” Top management
works with five-year projections,
and all crops are planned two
years in advance with cooperation
among the marketing, production,
field, and sales departments.
Unlike some canneries, Furman
Foods is a year-round industry. In
addition to packing fresh produce
in season, the firm does a large dry
packing business with beans.
Furman Foods employs 170 full
time workers and 350 part-time
workers, in addition to growers.
The food business isn’t always
rosy. Geise points to competition
from imports and the California
market, which holds down food
prices, costing both processors and
growers money. A combination of
low food prices and local dif
ficulties made Furman Foods take
a long, hard look at its business in
1982.
The Pennsylvania tax base
wasn’t ideal. Worse, the Depart
ment of Transportation had put a
12-ton limit on the road leading to
the cannery and the Department of
Environmental Resources was
suggestiong an expensive change
to the firm’s waste treatment
facility.
For awhile, the industry debated
moving out of state. But state and
local agencies came together with
the industry and ironed out most of
the problems. (For example, a new
road was constructed to the can
nery through the cooperation of
Furman, the Department of
Transportation, county govern
ment, and the economic
development council.) In 1983 the
company made a renewed com
mitment to the area by launching
its expansion program.
The commitment goes even
further. Furman, for example, was
one of eight state firms to promote
Pennsylvania products at the
recent NASDA National food and
agriculture exposition in Kansas
City, Mo.
“I’m an eternal optimist,” Geise
notes. “I think we have an ex
cellent market for Pennsylvania
agriculture if growers, processors
and buyers continue to work
together.”
He adds that the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture is to be
congratulated for its efforts in
promoting Pennsylvania-grown
produce.
“If everyone in Pennsylvania
would buy Pennsylvania-grown
and processed vegetables, we
would have a tremendous
market,” he said. “I hope all
farmers, not just our growers, will
think about that when they go to
the store. Farmers should be
supporting their own industry.”
John Wesley Furman seems to
have prophesied such efforts when
he once told his sons, “It’s much
easier to make a success when all
those involved work together.”
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