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Bell
- Carter Olive Company
2000
marked the 88th anniversary of Bell-Carter Foods,
Inc.'s entry in the Alice industry. In 1912,
brothers Arthur and Henry Bell purchased a small
olive grove in Reedley, California, just south
of Fresno. Their focus for the next 18 years
was harvesting and selling olives to various
olive processors in central California.
At
the start of the Depression in 1930, they expanded
into canning, distributing and marketing their
own olives under the "Bell's" brand
name. Arthur moved to Berkeley, where he started
a packing operation. Henry continued to tend
the groves in Reedley and shipped olives to
his brother. Arthur acted as a one-man olive
canner and food-service distributor to restaurants
in nearby San Francisco.
In
the early 1930's, "Bell's" chopped
olives were widely used in chopped olive sandwiches
(considered a delicacy at the time) and were
featured as the "Islands" in Thousand
Island salad dressing. Canned chopped olives
were the first of many product innovations that
the company would introduce. Another invention
was Arthur Bell's "pitter-chopper".
designed with the help of the engineering department
at the University of California at Berkeley.
The machine removed pits and chopped olives
at the same time, an automated process that
would become an industry standard.
By
1938, the Company was packing 7,000 cases of
olives per year with a dozen employees. That
year, Arthur's stepson, Daniel S. Carter, joined
the company to oversee the processing and canning
operation. Arthur was then able to expand his
sales routes to metropolitan areas across the
nation increasing sales dramatically. By the
end of the decade, Bell became a force in the
national olive market.
The
Company's sales slumped during World War II,
but it was able to maintain a market share of
approximately 5 percent. Daniel Carter returned
from the Navy in 1945. As the company continued
its growth, the organization was renamed Bell-Carter
Olive Company.
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The olive
market expanded throughout the 1950's
and 1960's into grocery stores, delicatessens
and supermarkets, and Bell-carter diversified
its product line for consumers and restaurants.
Sliced olives targeted homes, restaurants,
and the growing pizza industry.
In 1964,
the third generation of the family joined
the business with the entry of Daniel's
sons, Tim and Jud Carter. Moving up to
leadership position in the 1970s, both
men accelerated the Company's physical
expansion, distribution network and increased
sales to record levels.
In 1978,
the Company purchased the Maywood Olive
Company in Corning, California, which
was renovated and made fully operational
by 1980. Operations were then moved from
Berkeley.
In the
90's the Company tripled sales, through
acquisitions and diversification. In 1990
Bell-carter acquired the operating assets
of Olives, Inc., and started a specialty
food packaging company in Modesto. In
September 1992, the Company purchased
the Lindsay olive brand which is the most
widely recognized brand in the United
States. In Janusry 1999, the Company developed
a partnership with Agro-Sevilla, a Spanish
olive company, to sell and market imported
olive products. In October 1999, the company
agreed to acquire assets of the Oberti
Olive Co. from Tri-Valley Growers.
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Today,
Bell-Carter Foods, Inc. has the largest
table olive facility in the world, packing
the olives of more than 900 growers. In
addition to its 50+acre Corning plant,
Modesto packing facility and headquarters
in Lafayette, California, the Company
has regional offices in the Midwest &
Eastern States. Bell-Carter provides full-time
employment to more than 400 people.
The Company
accounts for approximately 60 percent
of all California olives processed and
sold in the nation. In the 2000 crop year,
Bell-carter projects shipments in excess
of 9 million cases of olives worldwide.
Bell-Carter's commitment to quality was
recognized in 1997, 1998, & 1999,
when the Corning facility was awarded
a "Superior" rating by the American
Institute of Banking. In 2000, the Company
was ISO 9002 certified. There is no other
olive company in the world with similar
ratings.
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Bell-Carter
Olive Company
1012
Second Street
Corning,
CA 96021
(530)
824-7189
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Tehama
County , California
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