J.R. Simplot’s Othello Facility Shining Star in Struggling Spud Industry - Plant Gets New Line

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Privately held food and agribusiness corporation, J.R. Simplot Company (Boise, Idaho), has started a multi-million dollar project at its frozen potato processing plant in Othello, Washington, that will add jobs and increase its efficiency of one of the most successful plants.

Click on the image at right to view the "Map It" plant location as seen using Industrialinfo.com's Online Plant Directory.

The company recently announced plans to close its Hermiston, Oregon, potato processing plant, due to flat-to-declining demand for frozen potato products in both domestic and global markets. To remain competitive, Simplot plans to relocate capacity and invest an estimated $2 million in capital to streamline production on a hash brown packaging line.

Construction began last week on a building remodeling project that will accommodate a new hand-pack packaging line and expand storage. A wood floor will be ripped up out of an existing 10,000 square foot cold storage building, and the space will be converted into dry storage. The new hash brown packaging line will be installed in existing square footage at the plant.

Simplot plans to add an estimated 15 to 20 workers to the plant once construction is completed in October of this year.

Simplot’s plant in Hermiston, Oregon, is scheduled to close by December 2004.

J.R. Simplot is a global food and agribusiness company with over 12,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $3 billion. A foodservice pioneer and potato industry innovator, Simplot has 20 direct and affiliated food processing plants in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and China.

Plant – 1513393 1504482