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Monterey Gourmet Foods: Monterey Gourmet Foods Highlights Impact of New Facility

^{Published on 2008-11-18 05:41:15 - Market Wire}
 

SALINAS, CA--(Marketwire - November 18, 2008) - Monterey Gourmet Foods (NASDAQ: [ PSTA ]), a manufacturer and marketer of fresh gourmet refrigerated food products, reported highlights of its new facility in Kent, Washington.

"Our new facility has increased our capacity to produce and deliver our gourmet food products to our customers," stated Javier Reyes, plant manager of Monterey Gourmet Foods' Kent facility. "The ability to produce all our products in one plant is driving synergies among our product lines and is leading to an increasingly efficient production process. In addition, the transition between the old and new facility was smooth as the initial move and set-up of the plant went as planned and all permits were received in a timely manner. Furthermore, we have experienced no interruptions in our business operations as a result of the move."

As previously announced, the company received its occupancy permit for its new facility on October 31, 2008. In addition, the company found a replacement vendor for its previous facility in Seattle, WA, which eliminated approximately $150,000 in costs associated with retrofitting the building for a new tenant.

"We are excited about the positive impact our Kent facility is already having on the company," stated Eric C. Eddings, president and CEO of Monterey Gourmet Foods. "The new facility provides us with the flexibility to accommodate multiple production lines as well as the capacity to capitalize on additional opportunities, such as the private label business. We are looking forward to continue reaping the benefits of having all employees in one central Washington location and all products developed and produced within one state-of-the-art facility."

"In addition, our performance in September and October demonstrated the company is gaining momentum as sales and profitability increased over the same period last year. Gross margins also improved during this period and we are being positively impacted by relief in commodity costs. All this bodes well as we continue to expect to ship several new products to customers during the fourth quarter," concluded Eddings.

About Monterey Gourmet Foods (NASDAQ: [ PSTA ])

Monterey Gourmet Foods manufactures USDA inspected, fresh gourmet refrigerated food products at its integrated 133,000 square foot corporate headquarters, distribution, and manufacturing facilities in Salinas (Monterey County), CA; Kent, WA; and Eugene, OR. Monterey Gourmet Foods has national distribution of its products, which are sold under the brands Monterey Pasta, CIBO Naturals, Emerald Valley Kitchen, Sonoma Foods and Casual Gourmet in more than 11,000 retail and club stores throughout the United States and selected regions of Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. For more information about Monterey Gourmet Foods, visit [ www.MontereyGourmetFoods.com ].