PITTSBURGH, Dec. 6, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ)
today announced that its fast-growing Heinz Foodservice Division has acquired
Alden Merrell Corporation, a manufacturer of high-quality, premium-priced
frozen desserts for casual dining restaurants and foodservice distributors.
Alden Merrell also sells and markets to deli and bakery sections of
supermarkets in parts of the East Coast. Terms were not released.
Heinz's Foodservice Division, which represents 17 percent of H. J. Heinz
Company's sales, sells branded and customized products to restaurants and food
outlets and has expanded at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate in the
two years since 1998.
The acquisition will allow Heinz to expand business and growth potential
within its existing casual dining customer base, as well as to reach new
markets.
"Bringing Alden Merrell into our foodservice business will help us to
continue our growth in this rapidly expanding away-from-home business," noted
Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson. "Supplying fine dessert
products to customers with whom we currently do business will open new markets
and provide exciting new opportunities for growth. It will further solidify
Heinz's position as a foodservice leader capable of creatively addressing one
of the most rapidly growing trends in the food industry."
Prime areas for growing this new business, according to Heinz, are the
aforementioned foodservice customer and deli/bakery operations within full-
service supermarket chains. In addition, Heinz may look at the opportunity
for cross-marketing these products in other retail food channels.
Alden Merrell, based in Newburyport, Mass., was founded in 1976 by its
current owners/shareholders. Its net sales this year will approach
approximately $30 million, and the company has shown a steady increase in
top-line growth during the past five years. A leading "custom developer" and
producer of high-quality frozen desserts, Alden Merrell's product line is
comprised of pies, bars, single-serve portions, sheet trays, layer cakes,
coffee cakes and cheese cakes.
The Newburyport location encompasses the company's headquarters office and
a 57,000-square-foot plant. Alden Merrell currently employs approximately
250 people on a full-time basis.
"Alden Merrell brings Heinz Foodservice a new category within our growing
portfolio that complements our existing skill set," said Jeffrey Berger,
president of Heinz Foodservice. "Both companies share, via various parts of
our businesses, a distribution network and customer base. In addition, Alden
Merrell and Heinz Foodservice are both focused, growth-oriented business
operations who invest in our people. Combined with the strength of our
Foodservice sales force, we know we have a win-win combination with this
acquisition."
Heinz Foodservice is one of the largest product suppliers to the U.S.
foodservice industry, providing leading away-from-home establishments with
condiments, frozen soups, tomato products and sauces, hot-fill food products,
single-serve products, among other meal solutions.
"Acquisitions have been the key to Foodservice growth and continue to be a
major driver in its long-term growth strategy," said Joe Jimenez, president
and CEO of Heinz North America. "We are achieving success with acquisitions
in categories that complement the strengths of our organization and,
certainly, Alden Merrell meets those requirements."
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the
company's future performance. These forward-looking statements are based on
management's views and assumptions, and involve risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These include,
but are not limited to, sales, earnings and volume growth, competitive
conditions, production costs, industry conditions, achieving cost savings
programs, successful integration of acquisitions and new product and packaging
innovations, and other factors described in "Cautionary Statement Relevant to
Forward-Looking Information" in the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended May 3, 2000, as updated from time to time by the company in its
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ABOUT HEINZ: With sales over US$9 billion, H. J. Heinz Company is one of
the world's leading marketers of branded foods to consumers everywhere,
whether in supermarkets, restaurants or on the go. Its 50 companies operate
in some 200 countries, with more than 20 power brands, including the Heinz
brand with nearly $3 billion in annual sales. Among the company's famous
brands are Heinz, StarKist, Ore-Ida, 9-Lives, Wattie's, Plasmon, Farley's,
Smart Ones, The Budget Gourmet, Bagel Bites, John West, Petit Navire, Kibbles
'n Bits, Pounce, Pup-Peroni, Orlando, ABC, Olivine, Juran and Pudliszki.
Heinz also uses the famous brands Weight Watchers, Boston Market and Linda
McCartney under license. Information on Heinz is available at
http://www.heinz.com.
ABOUT ALDEN MERRELL: With sales approaching $30 million this year, Alden
Merrell Corporation is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, premium-priced
frozen desserts for casual dining restaurants and foodservice distributors, as
well as for deli/bakery operations within supermarkets. The company was
founded in 1976; its product line is comprised of pies, bars, single-serve
portions, sheet trays, layer cakes, coffee cakes and cheese cakes. Alden
Merrell is located in Newburyport, Mass., and employs 250 people on a full-
time basis.
SOURCE H. J. Heinz Company
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.heinz.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/575757.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 575757
CONTACT:
MEDIA: Ted Smyth, SVP-Corp. & Govt. Affairs,
412-456-5780; Debbie Foster, Director-Corp. Comm., 412-456-5778;
or Jack Kennedy, GM-Strategic Comm., 412-456-5923, of Heinz; Deb
Bolding, GM-Comm., 412-237-5796, of Heinz North America;
INVESTORS: Jack Runkel, VP-Investor Relations, 412-456-6034, of
Heinz
|
