By Carolyn Barbre
Vita-Pakt Citrus acquired Del Rey Enterprises dehydration facility earlier this month.
This acquisition compliments Vita-Pakt's existing Dried Product Division's milling operation by providing complete control of the products for their operation. Along with the dehydration plant, Vita-Pakt has acquired 11.5 acres, which will provide a significant opportunity for future growth and expansion.
Vita-Pakt now has four divisions. Covina is home to corporate headquarters and is considered the Industrial Products Division. The Lindsay facility is listed as the Specialty Products Division. Fresno is home to the Dried Products Division and now Del Rey, which is near Fresno, incorporates the Dehydration Division.
Paul Gottschall, Technical Services Manager in the Specialty Peel Division at Vita-Pakt in Lindsay, said there are 80 employees in Lindsay and they will be picking up another 20-something at Del Rey. He said overall Vita-Pakt employs 250 plus persons.
Aaron Vedian, General Manager of the San Joaquin Valley operations for Vita-Pakt, described the company as, "Basically it's a processor of specialty citrus peel items." The Visalia resident said he didn't want to go into any details, just "something real short and sweet."
Vita-Pakt's website keeps it short and sweet, describing their operation as "A manufacturer of high quality food ingredient products for industrial food processors and institutional food service operators."
The company started as a fruit processor in 1957, selling fresh orange juice.
In 1997 Vita-Pakt decided to focus on the food ingredient products business which is how they came to set up the Lindsay division. The peel based products range from dried and milled peel for the spice and tea industry to hot pack canned peel for marmalade preserving to frozen peel used in baking and other applications.
The new acquisition will enhance their line of organic dehydrated vegetables and citrus peels, as well as kiwi and cactus fruit products.
