September 5,2014
Svenhards Swedish Bakery has sold its 5.14 acre Oakland plant along busy Hwy 880 for new development and will utilize some of the $8 million in proceeds to relocate all operations to Exeter in Tulare County.
”Then by June 2016 we should have everything relocated and be around 100 to 140 employees.”
Kunkel says they will be relocating and buying equipment in coming months putting the investment total in the Exeter plant at about $15 million when complete.
“All this development happening around the Bay Area gave us this opportunity to invest the money in our Exeter plant.”
Family-owned by the Svenhard family, Ronnie Svenhard has lived in Exeter for years and now his niece, Michelle Earnett is the company president. Three other Svenhard offspring work with the company.
Kunkel says the Exeter plant like the Oakland operation will be a union facility.
Despite consumer health concerns over sugar and and calls for gluten-free and so on – Svenhard’s sweet rolls are on a roll says Kunkel having picked up “significant new business in recent months” he says.The Svenhard big variety packs are big sellers at box stores and you can buy the sweets at many local stores.
Kunkel says the 40 acre plant on Industrial Drive in Exeter owned by them for decades as a sort of back-up facility may now finally begin to hum,even using the rail line to both get products like flour and sugar brought in and ship some finished baked goods out.
They have owned the former Dixie Yarns manufacturing plant in Exeter since 1992 but have waited 20 years to make their own products in Exeter which they did for the first time in 2012.
Kunkel himself is no stranger to Exeter.”I love Exeter and look forward to working there” says Kunkel, noting that besides Svenhard’s family members still living in the area, Kunkel’s nephew John Kunkel was formerly the police chief in town.
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