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Agriculture & Industry Facts about the expansion Company starts small Gerry and Jerry Vogt started Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen in 1973 in a 1,100-square foot building. Mrs. Gerry’s produced 70,000 pounds of three salads the first year. Production volume since has increased to 25 million pounds per year.
Make way for more potato processing
Double the taters A Q&A with Chad Vogt of Mrs. Gerry’s By Sarah Stultz
Employees to increase
Albert Lea-based Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen is nearing the completion of its new 37,000-square-foot expansion. By this summer, the company is on track to double its potato-processing capacity and increase its cold and dry storage capabilities. The Tribune sat down with Chad Vogt, Mrs. Gerry’s vice president and director of purchasing, to talk about the history of the company and its recent expansion.
With the expansion, Mrs. Gerry’s anticipates hiring an additional five to 10 employees, up from the 140 permanent employees already at the site.
Mrs. Gerry’s has been in operation since 1973. Can you tell us a little about how it got started? What were the goals for the company when it first began?
Dozens of foods being offered
In 1973, Mr. Jerry Vogt was selling salads on his Schweigert meat route to complement his meat — some cheeses, different products and one of them was the line of salads. The lady who made those salads was going to retire, so he came to Mrs. Gerry Vogt and said, ‘Would you make salads for me? And you have until tomorrow to give me answer.’ So they went to bed that night. They both prayed about it, and when they woke up in the morning, they felt a peace that they should start something, that they should start making salads. They started in the kitchen of their home. At the time Gerry had a 5-yearold, a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old in the house. They quickly grew out of the household kitchen, and they bought a place on Seventh Street, a 7,000-square foot building on the south side of town. Their first employees were her parents, Al and Betty Siemer, and their first year they sold 70,000 pounds. In 1978, they moved to the Northaire Industrial Park. Since then, this is the 4P. 5 sixth addition.
The expansion adds an additional 37,000-square feet to the company’s already existing 85,000-square foot manufacturing facility. It will double the potato-processing capacity and provide additional cold storage.
The company supplies more than 100 varieties of salads, dips, entrees and mashed potatoes to retail and food service customers in 17 states. Its most popular product is its readyto-eat mashed potatoes.
Mashed potatoes are No. 1 For 38 years, Mrs. Gerry’s original potato salad was the No. 1 product for the company, but in 2012 that was surpassed by the sales of mashed potatoes.
Brandi Hagen
Chad Vogt is the vice president and director of purchasing for Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen.The company is based in Albert Lea at 2110 Y.H. Hanson Ave. and its processing plant is at the same location. The company is in the second phase of expanding that plant.
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Description Population Population Working age (18-64) Population over 24 with diploma Pop. speaks English less than “very well” Labor force Per capita income Annual average employment Quarter average employment Employment change from prior year Mean travel time to work Unemployed Unemployment rate Pop. below poverty Initial claims for unemployment insurance Initial claims change from prior year Average weekly wage (see chart)
Average annual weekly wage Green: Minnesota Red: Southeast Minnesota Blue: Freeborn County Source: DEED quarterly census of employment and wages
Period Data County rank 2011 31,172 35 2011 -83 35 2001-2011 average 58.1% 55 2007-2011 average 87.3% 69 2007-2011 average 2.3% 21 December 2012 16,482 35 2007-2011 average $24,409 53 2011 12,290 34 2nd Q 2012 12,308 34 2nd Q 2012 -204 2007-2011 average 18 min. 61 December 2012 920 50 December 2012 5.6% 44 2007-2011 average 11% 35 December 2012 194 41 December 2012 -14% 13 2011 $643 42 Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE • FEBRUARY 2013
Freeborn County labor market by the numbers