Did you know that certain frozen bread dough and microwaveable sandwiches stocked in supermarkets are made in Orange County?
Ever heard of the publicly traded company called Bridgford Foods Corp.? Well, it has a plant in Anaheim.
Here is more about the locally based company: what challenges it faced last year, what new products it recently rolled out and what’s ahead for the company.
What Bridgford Foods makes: frozen bread and rolls dough, biscuits and microwaveable sandwiches.
Where its products are sold: supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants. For example, its Monkey Bread is available in the freezer aisles at Ralphs, Vons, Stater Brothers, Smart & Final, Albertsons.
Its headquarters: Anaheim. Its Orange County plant is at 1308 N. Patt St. It also has four other factories: one each in Chicago and Statesville, North Carolina, and two in Dallas.
Its history:Bridgford traces its roots back almost 75 years to 1932, when Hugh H. Bridgford opened a retail meat market in San Diego. The company said it pioneered the manufacture and sale of frozen bread dough to supermarkets starting in 1962. The first products were made at its Anaheim meat processing factory. Bridgford was selected as one of The 200 Best Small Companies in America by Forbes Magazine in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Number of companywide employees: About 650
Number of Orange County employees: About 140
Companywide sales: about $121 million in fiscal 2008, a decline of 3.3 percent from sales of about $125.1 million in 2007. The company recorded a net loss of about $12.4 million in 2008. In 2007, the company had a net loss of $292,000.
On the company’s unprofitable results this year…
2008 was a year of extraordinary challenges for Bridgford Foods Corporation, due primarily to the cost of grains, meats and petroleum products achieving record-setting levels during the year. Commodity costs during 2008 far exceeded those experienced in 2007. The company’s 2008 expense for bakery flour, gasoline and diesel fuel was over $4 million higher than in 2007. Grain prices soared as demand climbed for livestock feed and grains used in biofuels, and exports increased due to the soft dollar and overseas crop failures. Despite the implementation of price increases and significant cost-cutting measures, the increase in virtually every expense we incur in our business resulted in unprofitable results for the year.
On changes at the Anaheim plant …
The company further streamlined the Anaheim deli production operations, eliminating unprofitable processing operations and focusing on value-added sandwiches and meal-kits.
On developing new products …
In the frozen food division, new products introduced during the year include a “school biscuit”, developed to provide a superior nutrition profile for school districts. During 2008, we commenced production and sale of shelf-stable “First Strike” rations for the U.S. military forces. These very unique sandwich products, which were in development for almost five years, have a three-year non-refrigerated shelf life and utilize our production facilities in Chicago and Statesville, North Carolina. Overseas interest in these products has led us to begin construction of a meat-processing operation at our Statesville, North Carolina plant. This facility is targeted for completion in March 2009.
On its future …
Many of the factors that negatively affected our 2008 results began to turn in the company’s favor towards the end of the fiscal year. As always, our company refuses to compromise the quality of our products or the service we provide to our customers regardless of the short-term challenges we may face, as we believe this is the only viable strategy for long-term success. We are forging ahead, making improvements in every area, seeking economies in every expense category, developing new products, exploring new markets and making innovative changes to manufacturing operations and distribution methods.
Sources: company, its 2008 annual report, its Web site
Contact the writer: (714) 796-7083 or htnguyen@ocregister.com
