Central California

www.californiacv.com

Food Processing/Agri-Tech

Though Central California is growing at unprecedented rates, it remains a world leader in agriculture. The vitality and variety of crops grown make the region a natural choice for food processors and agricultural technology firms. As the most productive agricultural area in the world, the Central Valley offers a bounty of more than 350 crops, with an annual value in excess of $19 billion.

From cheese to chips, food processors find what they need in Central California. You’ll find many of the world’s largest facilities in Central California, including those manufacturing ice cream (Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream), mozzarella cheese (Leprino Foods Co.) and wine (Constellation Brands, Inc.). Other recent processors to the market include California Dairies’ 300,000 square-foot milk processing facility in Tulare and Zymax’s 214,000 square-foot nut processing facility in Merced. Food processing machinery manufacturers are also emerging like California Tomato Machinery’s new facility in Madera.

While growth has eased out agriculture in other areas of the state, the valley will retain its strong agricultural base. An example is Leprino Foods Co. selecting the area for the world’s largest mozzarella plant. And names like Frito Lay, Hershey’s, Heinz, and Haagen-Dazs abound. In addition to food processing, Central California has been a world leader in agri-tech fields such as water-flow technology. Eurodrip recently located Its headquarters and manufacturing from San Diego.