Tortillas for troops made in Overland Park
Sun Newspapers
BY: Chris Rodgers, Staff WriterFriday, September 21, 2007
La Superior Food Products, 4307 Merriam Drive, Overland Park, has added a Saturday shift to make flour tortillas that end up in the hands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mann�s Taste Traditions in Omaha awarded the tortilla contract to La Superior about two months ago. La Superior ships about 3,000 cases of tortillas a month to Mann�s, which uses them to make beef and chicken burritos for soldiers in the Middle East.
�We would normally work two 10-hour shifts per day Monday through Friday. We put on another shift on Saturday just because of the additional business,� La Superior CEO George Young said.
Young, Leawood, told a story he called �a funny twist� to the arrangement. �This is what kind of tickled me about this whole thing,� Young said.
�My son in college had a roommate that was a Marine ROTC and he is over in Afghanistan now. (The Marine) made the comment to my son that there is really not much to do � but he said at least the food is good, they get some of the best food around.
He says, 'As a matter of fact we�ve got these really great burritos.� �My son told me this story. So I call up Mann�s and I said, 'How many people are doing burritos and Mexican food?� and he says, 'We�re the only one that does it.�
So I told my son, call (your friend) back and tell him to keep eating those burritos because I�m making them here.�
Young and business partner Larry O�Brien, Leawood, bought La Superior in 2003, and the company has grown. �We have more than doubled our sales in the four-plus years,� Young said. �We ship to seven or eight states now.�
La Superior produces flour and corn tortillas and chips for grocery stores, restaurants and school districts. �All the sudden it seems that everybody is eating tortillas. It seems like we�re running every day now,� Young said.
Young said he, O�Brien and the company�s 32 employees feel proud to feed the troops.
�We consider it a great honor to be supplying our soldiers with our products, and it is a responsibility we take very seriously,� Young said. Young said he did not know how long the arrangement would last.
�It depends on the war,� he said. �Those contracts are really difficult to get. When you get them they are pretty good so I am pretty happy with it.�
�We were looking for a company that could supply us with quality items, and one with a reputation (for) on-time delivery,� Mann�s President and CEO Jeff Souba said in a press release. �La Superior is doing a superb job on all counts.�
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