Makepeace
subdivision meeting draws 50 residents in Plymouth
11/30/99 A Planning Board meeting in Plymouth on
November 29th was attended by fifty individuals interested in plans that the A.D.
Makepeace Company has proposed for possible residential development on the 3,500 acres it
owns in Plymouth.
In an article in the Patriot Ledger, planning
board member Loring Tripp is quote as saying "It's not something at this stage to get
overly worked up about. These small cul-de-sac roads will never be built. A.D. Makepeace
is trying to protect its building rights. They filed similar plans in Carver and Wareham
when those towns proposed bylaws limiting building permits. Makepeace withdrew its Wareham
plans when voters rejected the proposed cap.''
Makepeace spokesmen have made it known in the
past that the company is reviewing its options for future use of its land holdings,
including not only subdivisions but continued agriculture use, open space and other
possibilities. Joseph Haley, who is an attorney representing A.D. Makepeace, is quoted
"It's an intensive analysis. We have shared some information with boards and will
share more of it with the public as we go forward. These plans were filed to protect the
property's zoning. They were not intended to show very much. I can commit that we will be
back with development plans and share more information with boards and the public, but
we're not there yet.''
Read
article in the 11/30/99 Patriot Ledger here
Quote:
"The Executive Office of
Environmental Affairs, and Secretary (Robert) Durand, is really taking an aggressive role
in southeastern Massachusetts, in a hard look at what can be done through his office to
offer growers short-term conservation restrictions, so I think we're at a point where
we'll be seeing something roll out of that office in the near future." Jeff LaFleur
in the Cape Cod Journal
11/29/99
CBS News cranberry story
11/27/99 CBS News apparently ran their story on
the cranberry industry but half the country didn't see it because of a football game
which preempted the evening news. There is a discussion of the segment on the Forum.
The bright side to remember
11/25/99 - I am very pleased with the
boards recent decision. Now that we have decided to stick with Ocean Spray and not
merge with another company, we will have true survival of the fittest. Those inefficient
small farmers should have made plans long ago to get their farms paid off so that they
could weather a storm like this. If they didn't think ahead, it was their fault.
We have been through this before. We must save our company
for our children. Our shares will be worth a lot more when the small farmers go out of
business. I am proud of the board for representing the big guy and not giving in to
sentimental hogwash. Ocean Spray will survive and be returned to its former glory. The
strong will survive also, and I for one look forward to buying up the extra acreage from
the banks at a great price after the bankruptcies.
Read responses to this provocative posting on the Forum, or on
one page Here.
Media:
Ocean Spray logo makes unlikely
appearance in The Boston Globe
11/23/99 Ocean Spray can thank The Boston
Globe's editorial cartoonist, Bruce Hammond, for an usual placement of the cooperative's
distinctive logo. It adorns the sweatshirt of a rather portly farmer depicted in a
prominent editorial cartoon on the Opinion page. The farmer, looking none too happy
because he has a four or five foot dagger stabbed into his back with the point protruding
from his ample belly. On the handle of the dagger is the PepsiCo logo and name. Under the
cranberry grower's rubber boot is a document labeled "Merger options."
The grower's comment is "on second thought, I've got a gut feeling I'd be
better off on my own."
^ click here ^
History repeats itself
by Jack Bell
11/22/99 Veteran British Columbia cranberry
grower Jack Bell provides an overview of the economic history of Ocean Spray. He writes in
the Forum: "The name Ocean Spray is still worth billions of dollars. Let's take
advantage of that and sell the marketing branch of Ocean Spray to anyone of a dozen
companies that are seriously interested. Some growers are worried that if we sell the
marketing branch that we would lose control. That is pure and simple hogwash." Read the Forum posting here | Easy to print version |
Online:
Article in Food Processing addresses sluggish growth, retail consolidation, potential mergers and acquisitions
Ocean Spray ranked 49 in sales out of 100 top food companies
11/30/99 Companies that have been mentioned as being possible
suitors of Ocean Spray, i.e., General Mills, Quaker Oats, Proctor & Gamble,
Campbell and Unilever are all restructuring this year, according to an article in Food
Processing. Mega-corporations Unilever, Nestle, ConAgra and Archer
Daniels Midland. could be eyeing acquisition of Kellogg, Nabisco, General Mills, Quaker
Oats, Campbell Soup and Heinz, even as some of the later companies look at the possibility
of acquiring Ocean Spray.
From the article: "There are a lot of young CEOs who
are pretty pumped up to try to drive (revenue) growth," says Prudential Securities
analyst Jeff Kanter. "If that doesn't work, I think you're going to see some mergers.
It's inevitable." In a way, the relative youth of many of the CEOs would argue
against mergers, since they'll all want to retain control of their companies until they
reach retirement age, Kanter says. At the same time, he doubts they'll remain patient with
slow growth very long before turning to acquisition. Click here to link to Food
Processing article
Ocean Spray news from Beverage Online 11/22/99
Media:
In Wisconsin, "State growers stand by Ocean
Spray, Cranberry producers divided over co-op's fate"
11/28/99 Tom Daykin's article in today's
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes the differing viewpoints between Ocean Spray
cranberry grower/owners in Wisconsin and cooperative members in Massachusetts and on the
west coast about the decision not to pursue a sale or merger of the company.
Greg Fanning, president of the Wisconsin State
Cranberry Growers' Association and who operates the Fanning Cranberry Company which is a
part of Ocean Spray, told the Journal Sentinel that this was because Wisconsin cranberry
bogs are much larger and more efficient. He states that "the bottom line of that is
many of those (Massachusetts) operations have been operating under tighter margins for
some time. They're feeling the pinch even worse than we are here. They are much more
aggressively seeking a fix that will help them out of a tight spot sooner." Fanning
adds "I'm still sort of reserving judgment yet until I get more facts, figures and
information about the board's decision. I do know that our directors have been working
very hard to try to find a solution that will benefit the most shareholders within the
company."
Link to article HERE
Northland 1999 10K released
11/26/99 Northland Cranberries fiscal 1999 10K
filing with the S.E.C. contains a number of interesting facts about the corporation and
its plans for the fiscal year 2000. Among these are that Northland intends to promote
cranberry juice at health clubs with free samples and that they will be spending a portion
of their $9 to $10 advertising budget on consumer
research to improve their awareness of consumer tastes and preferences.
On Ocean Spray, the reports says: "We
expect that Ocean Spray will continue to compete aggressively against our 100% juice
cranberry blend products, possibly by increasing advertising of its 100% juice product
line, reducing product pricing, increasing its trade promotions or other actions. Ocean
Spray has significantly more experience in the fruit juice markets than we do, as well as
greater brand name recognition and greater marketing and distribution resources. We cannot
be certain that we will be successful in competing against Ocean Spray."
Your can read the first 14 pages of the report
on this site, HERE, or the
entire report on the NASDAQ
web site here.
Press release
Cliffstar Corporation acquires Greer,
S.C. bottling plant
"Acquisition strengthens customer service"
11/24/99 Dunkirk, NY / Greer, SC - The Cliffstar
Corporation today announced the acquisition of Carolina Products, a bottling and apple
pressing facility located in Greer, SC. According to Cliffstar officials, the acquisition
will allow Cliffstar to expand its capabilities to better meet customer's needs in the
competitive private label juice market. CONTINUED
Northland benefits from Ocean Spray
decisions
11/23/99 U.S. Bancorp, where beverage industry
analyst George
Dahlman closely monitors the cranberry industry, has raised Northland Cranberries
rating from neutral to buy.
On the release of the Bain Report
and recalling the Board of Directors
by John McFarland*
11/22/99 - I am intrigued at the replies given to OS
stockholders by management when requests for the release of the Bain report are
made. Proprietary information? I ask myself .... Who cares? Coke, Pepsi,
Tropicana.... those companies just don't give a hoot about Ocean Spray's business plans,
etc., they are far to big to be concerned about any strategic programs the Cooperative may
have in mind. Given the incredible mess Ocean Spray's made all by itself how could
any business care about Ocean Spray's "strategic vision?" CONTINUED | Easy to print version
* Editors note: John McFarland was an Ocean Spray
cranberry grower/owner in Wisconsin for fifty years, until he sold his farm to Northland
in 1996. This is his second Op-Ed. You can read the first, submitted in August, HERE.
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