Overview

This large-scale processing plant situated on a 73-acre site nearby to two other existing factories, a Holly Sugar Company mill and a Dairymaid milk plant. The plant operated until 01/30/1998, when it was shuttered.

Building History

The H.J. Heinz Company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, selected a 73-acre site near Tracy, CA, for a new factory in 09/1944. Heinz, founded outside of Pittburgh in 1869 had developed into a multinational corporation by 1944, selling "57 varieties" of condiments, sauces and canned goods. The Tracy Press said in its issue of 09/01/1944: "Founded in 1869 in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pa., the business was developed and expanded into a world wide concern by H.J. Heinz who passed away in 1919. He was succeeded by his son, Howard Heinz who headed the firm until his death several years ago. Henry J. Heinz II, grandson of the founder, is now president of the company. Only a minor product today, horseradish sauce was the first Heinz product to be placed on the market."

The article triumphantly announced the news of a new plant in Tracy. The article began by saying that "...The future of post-war Tracy was given a big boost today (Thursday)....." It continued: "The 73-acre tract involved in the purchase is located directly east of the Southern Pacific spur track to the Holly Sugar mill and faces on Highway 50, opposite the Dairymaid plant. A. Duarte and Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Pasqual were the sellers. When the factory is in operation, it will provide a local market for several thousand acres of produce from the Tracy area, including tomatoes, asparagus, carrots, beets, celery, spinach, apricots, peache and pears. The list of Heinz products is a long one. Principal productts are many varieties of pickles, tomato products, including ketchup, chili sauce, soup and juice; a complete line of soups, a complete line of strained baby foods, all varieties of vinegar, oven baked beans in various styles, spaghetti, olives, peanut butter, mustard, table sauces, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and, at present, various types of food for the Armed Forces."

The new Tracy plant would join many other facilities owned by Heinz in the US and abroad in 1944: "The head office of the H.J. Heinz company is located in Pittsburgh, Penn. Branch foreign factories are located in London, England; Melbourne Australia; Seville, Spain; and Leamington, Ontario, Canada. A new Heinz factory is now under construction at Wallaceburg, Ontario. Principal branch factories in the United States are located in Salem, N.J.; Chambersburg, Penn; Modina, N.Y.; Winchester, VA; Fremont, Ohio; Bowling Green, Ohio; Muscatine, Iowa; Sagina, Mich.; Holland, Mich.; and Berkeley, Calif. Smaller plants are operated in California at Watsonville, Corning and Isleton. Warehouses and sales offices are housed in all principal cities of the world." (See "H.J. Heinz Company Selects Tracy for Site of Large Post War Factory," Tracy Press, 09/01/1944, p. 1.)

Heinz discontinued operations at the Tracy plant in 01/1998. Ann Mooney of the Tracy Record.com, said at that time: "More than 51 years of turning locally grown tomatoes into ketchup ended with the closure of the H.J. Heinz plant Thursday, leaving nearly 400 people looking for work and lamenting the loss of a longtime employer. The plant was officially slated to stop production today, but managers surprised worker Thursday by shutting down the plant early and handing out final paychecks. Old plants like Tracy's are too expensive to refurbish and increasingly far from the bulk of tomato production [Phil] Martin [professor of agricultural economics at the University of California, Davis] said. Newer plants are more efficient and require fewer workers. 'In plain terms, we've just become better at making ketchup,' Heinz spokeswoamn Deb Magness said. 'The decision to close Tracy was based on the high cost of that factory in California combined with the low utilization rate of the factory. It would have required a multimillion-dollar investment to upgrade the facility.' At the height of the tomato harvest, about 600 workers labored around the clock, turning tomatoes into sauce, ketchup and soup. Heinz employed 400 permanent workers and 200 seasonal workers for 51 years in Tracy. During the harvest, the front of the plant was a sea of red tomatoes heaped into trailers hauled from nearby fields for round-the-clock washing and processing." (See Ann Mooney, Tracy Record.com, "Heinz plant shuts early," published 01/29/1998, accessed 01/07/2025.)

Approximately 75 employees of the Tracy plant were transferred to work in Heinz's Stockton, CA, facility and another 45 remained in Tracy to work at a Heinz distribution center. Walnut Creek-based Cranbrook Financial Industries bought the Heinz Tracy plant in 11/1997 and sought new tenants, beginning in 01/1998.

PCAD id: 25472