Planters and Suffolk tied together Staff 11/17/2005 It#8217;s an inspiring story and one we never tire of hearing. We refer to the story of Amedeo Obici and his rise to fame and fortune in Suffolk as
Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 17, 2005
It’s an inspiring story and one we never tire of hearing.
We refer to the story of Amedeo Obici and his rise to fame and fortune in Suffolk as the founder of Planters Peanuts. It was repeated Wednesday as Kraft Foods Global Inc., held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially dedicate its new 57,000-square-foot warehouse addition to its Planters Peanuts facility on Culloden Street.
While even all these years later it still feels funny saying “Kraft Foods Global, Inc.,” instead of “Planters Nut and Chocolate Company,” it’s good to be reminded of the intertwined histories of the city and the company.
And several city council members did that during remarks at Wednesday’s event. Curtis Milteer noted that he worked at Planters from1957-1961; Calvin Jones talked about his father working there in the early 60s and how he once drove Mr. Peanut in a parade; Charles Brown talked about the families that housed, fed and educated their children on incomes from Planters.
Plant Manager Dan Huss, however, focused on the Obici story and how he built the company from what was literally a fruit stand operation into the giant it became. Inspiring stuff.
Planters and Suffolk go together like … well, chocolate and peanut butter. It’s nice to know Kraft is confident enough in Suffolk to invest in expansion, assuring that the futures of the company and the city will be tied together as well.