What was the name of this company? We didn’t know, we only knew their code name of “Project Diamond.” The people we met with used first names only. By our allowing this anonymity, businesses can investigate the local industrial park without worrying that the news might prematurely leak out to competitors, unions, or even the local press. The company has the luxury of conducting its due diligence and formulating a decision on its own time line.
While we were in this meeting, word came that another large business was in town exploring the possibility of locating here as well. Once a decision is made by Project Diamond, hopefully a favorable one, I’m sure that a press release will be issued. A similar process was used when VWR was exploring making Visalia’s industrial park its new home.
Our industrial park is becoming a hot commodity, due to its easy access for transportation purposes, and being part of a community like ours where educational, recreational, and shopping opportunities abound. Visalia’s strategic location along Highway 99 in close proximity to San Francisco, Sacramento and Southern California markets with modern amenities in its industrial park make it ideal for companies to locate and/or expand here. The following is a snapshot of recent industrial park activity provided to me by Ricardo Noguera, our Economic Development Director:
VWR (New company)
This project is scheduled for completion in early 2012. VWR’s new Visalia location will be its largest globally, with a 500,000 square foot facility (larger than 8-1/2 football fields), doubling VWR’s footprint on the west coast and allowing this medical supplies company to reach more customers with next-day deliveries.
PERFECTION PET FOOD (New company)
Perfection Pet Food is a subsidiary of family-owned Western Milling. The new plant will manufacture and process dog and cat food in a new venture for the company, which currently processes livestock feed. The factory is expected to hire between 40-50 employees.
VF OUTDOORS (Expansion of existing company)
VF is in the process of adding approximately 40,000-45,000 square feet of mezzanine in their facility. This company manufactures sportswear, clothing and footwear. Visalia’s 900,000 square foot plant supplies retailers throughout 14 western states.
MOR FURNITURE FOR LESS (New company)
MOR Furniture for Less has leased nearly 100,000 square feet of space from the Diversified Development Group and is consolidating distribution centers in Visalia from Fresno and Bakersfield.
HYDRITE CORPORATION (New company and merger)
This is a Wisconsin-based chemical company which has purchased an existing company and will expand in Visalia over the coming months. This company provides services to the agriculture industry.
These new projects will add to the thriving business atmosphere in our industrial park, which will in turn attract additional new businesses I predict. After our meeting with the Project Diamond team, we received a note from the commercial real estate broker indicating that “Visalia continues to be the gold standard in hosting these types of meetings. The Project Diamond team was very impressed. The city team was outstanding as always in its presentation.” New businesses locating to our industrial park mean new construction jobs, new permanent jobs, and additional city tax revenues.
Airport Update: Effective September 8, 2011, our local airline, Great Lakes Airlines, has announced that it will add a second daily flight to Las Vegas. With 30-day advance purchased fares starting at $95.00 to Las Vegas, the airline was experiencing many weekend flights that were sold out and many more travelers trying to book seats, according to Mario Cifuentes, Visalia airport manager. Based thereon, Great Lakes thought it would be a good idea to add capacity to the Las Vegas route. As previously reported, the new Los Angeles service was an instant hit. Those passenger totals continue to climb as well. Kudos to Great Lakes Airlines for providing attractive destinations and prices for our local business and leisure travelers.
In August, local Catholics dedicated their new Parish Center on the property site of St. Charles Borromeo Church, and the Congregation B’Nai David dedicated their new Jewish Education and Cultural Center. Both facilities are beautiful and functional, and a great addition to our community.
If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.
Warren Gubler
Visalia City Council Member
