Harris Ranch to make deli meat at new $10M facility

Published on 06/13/2014  

Written by Business Journal staff

With a new modern facility at its Selma property, Harris Ranch Beef Co. has begun processing beef, poultry, pork and other types of deli meats for Columbus Foods of Hayward.

As part of the partnership, the two companies spent more than a year testing and duplicating Columbus Foods' deli meat recipes.

Now, those products will be churned out at a new 281,000 square-foot facility supplied and operated by Harris Ranch.

Harris is also supplying 35 to staff the facility, which will produce 25 million pounds of Columbus Foods' branded deli meat in its current layout and up to 50 million pounds if expanded in the future.

"Like Columbus, Harris Ranch is dedicated to producing the highest-quality products with the utmost dedication to food safety," said David Wood, chairman and CEO of Harris Ranch Beef Company, in a release. "This is a good fit for both of our companies—and the synergies between Harris Ranch and Columbus will ensure a seamless production transition."

Completed in May by Harris Ranch and Schmeeckle Brothers Construction of Colorado, the plant features a variety of cooking ovens, chillers and packaging equipment.

Besides sourcing the beef, Harris Ranch invested $10 million in the facility along with Columbus Foods, which also provided quality and technical oversight

"Columbus' deli cooking facility in south San Francisco is landlocked and necessitated we find a solution to provide for capacity expansion on our branded deli meat growth," said Timothy Fallon, president and CEO of Columbus Foods, in a the release. "By partnering with Harris Ranch, we're well-positioned to continue to provide the quality and taste that consumers and our retail customers expect from Columbus and meet continued growth in the coming years."

http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/manufacturing-and-distribution/12468-harris-ranch-to-make-deli-meat-at-new-10m-facility