In an Oct. 9, 2012 report on “Sugar and Sweeteners” published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, it was noted that “U.S. sugar prices have been well above world prices since 1982 because the U.S. government supports domestic sugar prices through loans to sugar processors and a marketing allotment program.”

Richardson Brands President and Chief Executive Officer Arnie D’Angelo, who came out of retirement a year ago to change the company’s fortunes, last week said, “Unfortunately, we’re in the sugar business. When you’re dealing with world sugar against domestic sugar, you’ve got a gigantic disadvantage. The differential is probably 15 percent just in raw material costs that we’re forced to pay — higher.”

A Dec. 5, 2012 “Issue Brief” written by Bryan Riley for the conservative think-tank, The Heritage Foundation, located at http://www.heritage.org, calls for the abolishment of the sugar program for that reason, noting that “food manufacturers continue to relocate to countries where sugar is affordable.”

It’s a difference in price that has made it difficult for U.S. companies like Richardson’s to compete with foreign competitors; but D’Angelo said changes to the century-old, nearly 200,000-square-foot Canajoharie facility (including the streamlining of infrastructure in the plant, better utilization of people and energy)  and other measures — for example, the positioning of the company to specialize and to sell everything that it makes in a niche market — have helped the company turn a profit.

In particular, he said the company has a “specialized artisan profession”: It’s one of only two producers of rock candy in North America; and it’s one of only five producers in the world.

“We’ll shortly be the only producer in North America, so it gives us a great advantage to do our core business,” D’Angelo said, noting the making of the product is “not easily replicated.”

Another emphasis for the company will be the “iconic” Gravy Master brand, which the company is planning to “further develop with a whole line expansion, that we will be coming out with within the next six months,” he said.

D’Angelo continued, “We will be profitable this year.”

That’s a milestone for the company, which has not been profitable since New York City-based Founders Equity bought it in the spring of 2006, he said.

D’Angelo — the founder/owner of International Marketing Systems of Connecticut, which he sold in 2011 prior to his retirement — said, “Founders is committed to the community. I’m committed to the community.”

“My personal goal for the company is to keep the employment up here in Canajoharie, to build a sustainable factory,” D’Angelo said.

“This factory is 107 years old. It hasn’t been maintained. It’s been neglected for years. Even prior to Founders it was neglected, and when you neglect something so long, it becomes in such ill-repair it becomes difficult to get it back up to speed; so through motivating the employees and putting a little energy to the place, you can see from the attitudes that they all want it to work. They’re all happy here. They all take a great deal of pride, and they’re seeing it happen,” he added.

Among the visible changes to the exterior of the plant include fresh paint, new signage and lighting. But they don’t stop there: Improvements extend to the interior of the facilities as well, with newly epoxied floors in some work areas, a redesigned print shop, improvements to the employees’ lunch room, and bathroom upgrades, for example.

With 175 to 210 mostly-full-time employees, D’Angelo said the company is running “seven days a week, two shifts a day, which is rather remarkable.”

Some of that is due to the company’s production and packaging of a yogurt-covered granola product for an outside company. They also have some products in Wal-Mart.

Among the biggest challenges that he faces is the allocation of funds because the “mammoth” plant is in such disrepair, he said.

The company was the recent recipient of a $100,000 grant through the state’s 2012 Regional Economic Development Council Awards, of which $738 million was awarded statewide. D’Angelo said he’s appreciative of the funding and will use the money to buy some new equipment, but it won’t go very far.

Specifically, as detailed in a full list of awardees posted on the Empire State Development website, www.esd.ny.gov/, the company has committed to use the money to “purchase equipment including a custom chocolate enrober, a mogul machine, a stick depositor conveyor and two stick flow wrappers. In addition, it will repair and upgrade the exterior and make renovations throughout the facility.”

D”Angelo continued, “This plant over 100 years has been 100 different things. It was never designed to do what we do. In manufacturing, everything is linear and we’re vertical, so we’re handicapped. We have to bring everything up and down in an elevator.”

Another handicap is the lack of nearby warehouse space for the company’s products. D’Angelo claimed that Beech-Nut officials had been approached about the provision of warehouse space, but declined to rent to the company. He said, “It would be ideal for us to have space right here. We’re forced to go to School House [near Amsterdam] and we have some space in Little Falls. We want product in and out. We have our own truck, and certainly driving 100 yards down the street makes a lot more sense than driving 25 miles.”

Consequently, he said the company’s long-range plan it to expand on-site, eventually building a warehouse behind the four-story facility.

While the plant is “logistically challenging, it’s what we have,” D’Angelo said. “We have to deal with it; and to replace the infrastructure that you have here — the electrical, the steam [heat] — you’re talking tens of millions of dollars to build a new facility. It’s more cost-efficient to make the best of what we have.

“The alternative would be to move, to find a distressed plant somewhere, retrofit it and go there; but that’s not what the goal is. The goal is to keep everybody here, and we have a moral obligation, I think, to the town. You’re talking 200 families. That’s a lot of responsibility,” D’Angelo added.