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LiDestri Foods has closed the deal to sell their Dundee Foods facility on Seneca Street in Dundee to Mobruka Properties LLC, a holding company owned by Aceyt Foods (pronounced like “a seat”), a supplier of Mediterranean-style food products with operations downstate, as well as Florida and Connecticut.
Steve Griffin of the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center has been working on the deal for over six months, finally closing on Jan. 12. The sale price was $1,025,000. “We have high hopes for a long-term significant economic influence on the area. They have the potential to grow pretty big,” says Griffin. He added that the sale is part of the $3.75 million the company is going to invest in the facility.
“We expect there to be 40 jobs added there over three years.”
Company spokesman Kirk McAfee, CEO of Ascent Prinicipal Group (a part owner of Aceyt) says the plant will be used for the packaging and distribution of olive oil, olives, capers and possibly anchovies and sardines. The production and warehouse space, plus the road and rail connections were all attractions that earned Aceyt’s attention. “We are glad to bring the building back into use doing what it was built for. I really have to thank Steve Griffin and Ryan Hallings of FLEDC and Keith Hurley on the state level. They are the ones responsible for getting this done,” says McAfee.
Hiring has already begun with some of the key people who were associated with Dundee Foods. There is no firm date yet for production to begin. McAfee says that the start-up date will depend on customer orders and the availability of some specialty equipment, some of which must come from overseas, but they are not wasting any time. “We are already bringing customers in this week,” says McAfee.
He expects things will be operational this spring. Cautioning that job hiring will be driven by sales, he still expects to hire 20 people in the first year. “We are abundantly confident in our growth. We are a small company and we need this facility as the center point of our expansion.”
Aceyt Foods President and CEO is Aziz Debbagh, who is also a partner in Caragol & Zaina Associates Inc., a 100-year-old company that sells directly to food importers or retailers in bulk. Their network includes partners and suppliers from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Spain, Greece, Morocco, and Peru. According to McAfee, Caragol & Zaina is the trading arm of Aceyt Foods.
LiDestri Foods has closed the deal to sell their Dundee Foods facility on Seneca Street in Dundee to Mobruka Properties LLC, a holding company owned by Aceyt Foods (pronounced like “a seat”), a supplier of Mediterranean-style food products with operations downstate, as well as Florida and Connecticut.
Steve Griffin of the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center has been working on the deal for over six months, finally closing on Jan. 12. The sale price was $1,025,000. “We have high hopes for a long-term significant economic influence on the area. They have the potential to grow pretty big,” says Griffin. He added that the sale is part of the $3.75 million the company is going to invest in the facility.
“We expect there to be 40 jobs added there over three years.”
Company spokesman Kirk McAfee, CEO of Ascent Prinicipal Group (a part owner of Aceyt) says the plant will be used for the packaging and distribution of olive oil, olives, capers and possibly anchovies and sardines. The production and warehouse space, plus the road and rail connections were all attractions that earned Aceyt’s attention. “We are glad to bring the building back into use doing what it was built for. I really have to thank Steve Griffin and Ryan Hallings of FLEDC and Keith Hurley on the state level. They are the ones responsible for getting this done,” says McAfee.
Hiring has already begun with some of the key people who were associated with Dundee Foods. There is no firm date yet for production to begin. McAfee says that the start-up date will depend on customer orders and the availability of some specialty equipment, some of which must come from overseas, but they are not wasting any time. “We are already bringing customers in this week,” says McAfee.
He expects things will be operational this spring. Cautioning that job hiring will be driven by sales, he still expects to hire 20 people in the first year. “We are abundantly confident in our growth. We are a small company and we need this facility as the center point of our expansion.”
Aceyt Foods President and CEO is Aziz Debbagh, who is also a partner in Caragol & Zaina Associates Inc., a 100-year-old company that sells directly to food importers or retailers in bulk. Their network includes partners and suppliers from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Columbia, Ecuador, Spain, Greece, Morocco, and Peru. According to McAfee, Caragol & Zaina is the trading arm of Aceyt Foods.
