Family candy-maker Sconza finding friendly welcome in Oakdale

By CHRISTINA SALERNO
csalerno@modbee.com

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OAKLAND -- Candy-making at the Sconza factory still relies on many of the old-fashioned techniques family members mastered during the company's 69 years of operation.

Blackened caldronlike pots of nuts and caramelizing sugar are heated over a flame, the contents then tossed onto a conveyor belt. The master candy makers watching over the process don't use gauges or computers, instead mixing ingredients based on their well-honed knowledge of the craft.

"It is as much an art as it is a science," said Ron Sconza, vice president of operations, during a tour of the 70,000-square-foot candy factory, situated in an industrial park about a mile from the Oakland Coliseum.

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Sconza Candy Co. churns out about 120,000 pounds of candy a day. That includes Sconza brand confections, private-label candies and bulk products.

The Sconzas are closing shop in Oakland and moving to the former Hershey Co. plant in Oakdale, where they will begin production in October. They will bring with them all of the equipment now tightly squeezed inside a factory the family business has outgrown.

Since making the announcement, the Sconzas have been flooded with e-mails and messages from Stanislaus County residents welcoming them. A retired Hershey mechanic even offered his services -- free of charge -- if it would help the company with the transition, Ron Sconza said.

"We've been overwhelmed with good wishes," he said.

The company has hired seven former Hershey managers. It will introduce itself to the community at the Oakdale Chocolate Festival in May, and a job fair at the plant is planned for this summer.

Sconza's 100 employees in Oakland are members of The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union. They will be offered transfers, although it is unclear how many employees will make the 80-mile move to Oakdale.

It began with peanut brittle

Sconza Candy Co. is run by the son of its founder, President James Sconza, along with third-generation Sconzas who serve as vice presidents.

James Sconza's father, Vincent Sconza, was 17 when he left Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1922. He began the company by making peanut brittle in the kitchen with his wife, Mary Sconza. They rented a small storefront in Oakland in 1939, adding a few other candy items to their line.

In 1948, they moved their growing operation to Berkeley, where they began "panning" candy, a style of candy-making that is used to make some of Sconza's signature products.

Sconza Candy Co. bought Hromada Candy Co. of San Francisco in 1967 and combined the operations at a plant in Oakland, where they have remained for 41 years.

The operation is spread over three buildings in Oakland, including a 25,000-square-foot warehouse down the street from the manufacturing plant. The firm also has a distribution center in Chicago that serves its East Coast customers.

The Sconzas say the company has remained successful because of its ability to adjust quickly to changing consumer tastes without compromising the quality of ingredients or its artisan candy-making techniques.

The firm previously specialized in hard candies, such as lemon drops and ribbon candy. But that market lost its popularity as its core customers grew older. The Sconzas changed their focus to panned candies such as jawbreakers and chocolate-covered nuts and fruits.

"That's the niche we're in now," said Janet Sconza Angers, vice president of customer relations.

Sconza Candy has 130 panning machines of varying sizes that can each hold a 320 to 900 pounds of candy. The machines resemble a large clothes dryer, slowly spinning the core of the candy to coat it with layers of flavor, color and various ingredients.