All eyes on chocolate plant

All eyes on chocolate plant
by Andrew Henderson

Members of the Fulton community most likely watched with interest Wednesday as a delegation from the Ivory Coast met with local and state officials to discuss the financial crisis surrounding the New York Chocolate & Confections Company.

They might not be the only ones.

Fulton Mayor Daryl Hayden and Operation Oswego County Executive Director L. Michael Treadwell have both publicly noted within the past few weeks that other companies are carefully watching the situation unfold at the former Nestle plant.

"We did have groups that were interested in it before New York Chocolate got it," Mayor Hayden said earlier this week of the former Nestle facility. "I can't say that I haven't talked with some of them. Are there any commitments to the mayor? Not actual commitments, but there are people interested in what's going on."

When asked what type of companies might be interested in the plant, Mayor Hayden responded, "Other chocolate and food companies-that's all I can tell you."

Earlier this week, government officials from the Ivory Coast traveled to Fulton to tour the plant and address the company's debt. The delegation is expected to provide a report to the prime minister of the Ivory Coast, who will make the decision whether to continue to invest in the Fulton plant.

"There were two different groups that came to town from the Ivory Coast," said Mayor Hayden. "We don't know more than we did when we went in."

Because of outstanding debt to National Grid, the power company shut off natural gas to the plant earlier this month. The chocolate company also owes a substantial amount of money to the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency as well to the City of Fulton.

Even with the mounting debt and the suspension of utility services, New York Chocolate CEO Jean-Claude Amon said in a statement earlier this month that he is expecting funding from the company's investors in the Ivory Coast.

New York Chocolate is poised to launch chocolate production immediately, he said, but there has been a delay in funding from the African country because trade and agricultural regulations have changed as a result of governmental transition in the African country.

This past Monday, the company laid off 50 hourly workers as funding from the Ivory Coast failed to arrive. "I feel sorry for them," said Mayor Hayden, who worked at the plant for more than 30 years for Nestle. "I hope that these people who came to invest pay their money and get it running again. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have a job."

In May of 2003, Nestle corporate officials closed their Fulton plant and transferred production to Brazil in South America. Nestle had been producing chocolate locally for more than 100 years when the plant closed.

After Nestle pulled out, two companies- taking the names "New York Chocolate" and "The Fulton Chocolate Company"- purchased the assets and set on a course to produce chocolate in Fulton. New York Chocolate, backed by an Ivory Coast consortium of cocoa-bean growers, purchased the building and most of the equipment. The Fulton Chocolate Company had planned to lease approximately 250,000 square feet of the plant to produce low-carbohydrate and private label candy bars.

In July of 2004, however, New York Chocolate purchased the assets of The Fulton Chocolate Company to become the sole owner and operator of the plant. New York Chocolate would be the African cocoa bean growers' first chocolate-producing plant. Farmers in the Ivory Coast produce about 40 percent of the world's share of cocoa beans, but have never had a facility to produce chocolate.

So far, the shareholders have funded $26 million to operate the plant, but the company reportedly owes $2 million in unpaid bills.

"I hope that they see fit to invest more money to keep the factory running," said Mayor Hayden. "If for some reason that they don't, I hope that there is somebody out there who can make some kind of deal to make chocolate in the City of Fulton and supply jobs. If something happens, the door is open."