A Tipton cheese plant that has been in operation for more than 80 years will close in September, idling 144 workers.
In a notice filed with the state Employment Development Department, owner Lactalis American Group announced its intention to close the Mozzarella Fresca plant on Burnett Road in Tipton, just off Highway 99 on the north end of the Tulare County town.
The layoff notice, required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, identified Sept. 6 as the target date for the first stage of layoffs. The closure will be a gradual process through December, said Sandi Miller, the Rapid Response coordinator for the Tulare County Workforce Investment Board.
Property tax databases show that the oldest portion of the plant was built in 1927. It was once part of the Knudsen dairy operations, said Visalia businessman Jody Graves, who headed a company that ran the plant for about five years. Graves and other investors bought the plant out of bankruptcy in about 1999 and formed the Sequoia Specialty Cheese Co.
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