Manda Fine Meats Sells La. Plant

Manda Fine Meats has sold its idle facility in Baker, La., for $200,000 to a pair of investors who plan to develop an industrial manufacturing incubator in the building. The plant was closed in April 2013 over concerns that products made there were contaminated with listeria.

Mar 3, 2014

BAKER, La. (AP) — Manda Fine Meats says it has sold its idle Baker facility for $200,000 to a pair of investors who plan to develop an industrial manufacturing incubator in the building.

The plant at 13111 Plank Road was shut down in April 2013 over concerns products made there may have been contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, The Advocate reported.

Baton Rouge-based Manda sold the plant in a deal that closed earlier this week, according to records filed with the East Baton Rouge Parish clerk of court's office. The sale included a 15,000-square-foot building, a separate 6,000-square-foot warehouse and 11 acres of surrounding land. The buyer was Lincoln Park LLC.

William Manhein, a principal of Lincoln Park, said food processing equipment inside the Manda building has been removed and sold to other businesses.

"There's nothing in there anymore," he said. "The last thing that was left was these big industrial ovens, and they were shipped out two weeks ago."

Manhein is the owner/president of Asset Recycle, which shares a property line with Manda. Asset Recycle sells used and surplus turbo machinery, such as industrial gas turbines.

Manhein and his partner in Lincoln Park, Mike Bercute, a former Firestone plant manager, have industrial backgrounds.

That led to their interest in using the site to foster the growth of fledgling industrial manufacturers.

"We like watching new technology grow," Manhein said. "And if there are tenants that interest us, we may end up investing in them."

The Baker processing plant handled ham, roast beef, turkey, corned beef, pastrami and hogs head cheese.

It was shut down in spring 2013 after inspectors found that meat produced there may have been contaminated with the bacterium that can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease that can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea.

Since then, Manda has farmed out the processing of deli and specialty meats to a network of out-of-state plants, said company CEO Bobby Yarborough.

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Information from: The Advocate, https://www.theadvocate.com/