Shoei Foods rebuilds after fire devastates facility

Sept. 19--Loud booms and geysers of sparks and smoke erupted from within the inferno that destroyed five warehouses at the Shoei Foods production facility on June 1, 2014.

As Shoei Foods USA Chairman and Managing Director Don Soetaert watched firefighters battle the blaze, he thought the explosions were the tanks on forklifts blowing up. He later found out he was wrong.

"This fire was so hot it blew chunks of concrete out of the ground and through the side and roof of the buildings," Soetaert said. "One piece went through the window of a fire truck."

The fire consumed 200,000 square feet of the facility south of Olivehurst, leaving just one building operational. At the time of the fire, the plant processed walnuts and coconuts. The fire burned for two days in a building that contained 1 million pounds of coconuts -- because of the coconut oil.

Shoei received $16 million from the insurance company to rebuild, and added another $4 million to expand capacity, Soetaert said.

The cause of the fire was never determined, but it started in a stack of wooden bins after the last employee left for the night. More than 20,000 wooden bins burned for an estimated loss of $3 million.

Some of the equipment was difficult to replace because it was built specifically for Shoei's needs. The facility had two in-shell processing and packing lines.

The rebuilding process began almost immediately and by the end of September 2014, the plant was ready to receive growers' crops. Competitors stepped in to help out and Shoei employed a "short-notice" prefabrication company to erect buildings quickly.

The facility is now fully operational, and the company received its last insurance payment over the summer. Instead of five warehouses, the Shoei facility now has three larger warehouse buildings home to the walnut huller, drier and storage.

Shoei USA is owned by Shoei Japan and exports $100 million of California products to Japan annually. It is the largest importer of dried fruits and nuts in Japan.

Shoei bought a 1,000-acre prune ranch west of Olivehurst about 30 years ago and built the plant to process prunes on the property. The company's prune production moved to the Sunsweet facility in Yuba City in 1998, and the plant now processes walnuts. The vast majority of its growers are from the Sacramento Valley.

Coconuts were processed at the facility prior to the fire, but Shoei has yet to determine where it will put that aspect of its operation, Soetaert said.

The fire is the second major disaster to strike the Shoei facility near Olivehurst. It was covered by 14 feet of water during the flood in 1997, which wiped out an entire season of prunes and was not covered by insurance. Some of the orchard land never recovered to full productivity after the flood, Soetaert said.

"It took 20 years to pay off the flood damage," Soetaert said. "Japan has a tremendous investment and is dedicated to stay. The fire would have been a good way to back out."

CONTACT Reporter Kirk Barron at 749-4796.

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