By Faughn Distribution • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Visalia tills crops into industrial plants

Dairyman Jay teVelde, Jr. is the latest north Visalia landowner to request a large annexation within the city limits to capitalize on the need for greater industrial space.

TeVelde, Jr. is requesting annexation of more than 300 acres into the City of Visalia that will add more developable land to the Visalia industrial Park. The site is north of Riggin and east of Plaza. The multiple parcels reach close to Highway 99 to Road 68 on the northern edge of Goshen. His mixed-use proposal consists of some residential and commercial designations with 225 acres zoned for industrial uses, according to a recent plan filed with the city.
The proposed annexation adds to five other recent annexations that will bring more residential, big box commercial and industrial uses as the city expands its reach to accommodate growth. A number of these projects are still in the works, including land for Costco to build a new retail store at Riggin and Shirk and add some 500 new homes around it.

Other annexations include a 320-acre industrial project on land owned by the Ritchie family that is in the middle of an environmental review seeking approval probably early next year.

Landowners on the northern tier of Visalia have in the past few decades, cashed in on the fact that development, from residential to industrial, has been moving their way. Names include long time farming families such as Doe, Shannon and Ritchie, and now teVelde, who all own or owned mostly low-value, field-crop land north of the historic city limits. It’s not low value anymore.
Some families have taken a direct hand in the development of these lands like the Shannons, who have developed Shannon Ranch and mixed use residential and retail projects like the new northside Costco project expected to break ground in a matter of months.

Of course, the Doe family has a street in the industrial park named after them and annexed 156 acres into the city a few years ago at the NW corner of Plaza and Riggin, later sold to Fresno developer John Brelsford who is marketing it.

Also, as mentioned, the Ritchie family, who is now annexing a whole section of land into the city, has sold off the development rights to Seefried Industries awaiting completion of their environmental impact report before annexation is approved. This project is a behemoth as Seefried has come to an agreement with the Ritchie family to build a proposed 3.8 million square foot industrial complex north of Riggin Road between Kelsey Street and Shirk Road. The project is expected to employ 4,100 workers at build out.

Another industrial annexation was recently approved on 80 acres at the southwest corner of Riggin and Shirk by YS industries. The project was recently challenged with the lawsuit claiming that the city allowed the project to move forward without proper environmental studies. The city has rejected the assertion and the applicant expects the project to move forward early next year. Part of the land used to be a dairy.

Now to the west, the dairy family led by Jay teVelde, Jr. is planning to develop over 300 acres north of Riggin and west of Plaza (See maps). The specifics of the new teVelde proposal include some 225 acres of industrial, about 50 acres of high density residential and 25 acres of commercial fronting on Riggin. There’s also land set aside for a water storage basin.

Asked this week if he could comment on his annexation request, Jay, Jr. said he could not. Visalia-based 4 Creeks consultants are steering the project through the city approval process.

Family history

The teVelde family have expanded their already successful dairy operation since arriving from Southern California in 1989. Their Facebook page states Double J Dairy started Dec. 1, 1988, as a partnership between Jay teVelde, Sr. and Jay teVelde, Jr. Originally located in Chino, California, the dairy relocated to Visalia in June of 1989. The facility was an open-lot style dairy equipped to milk approximately 1,000 cows. By 1998, the herd expanded to 4,400 milking cows and was remodeled to freestall barns. Over the next two decades, teVelde, Jr. was able to expand his surrounding land base and is now self-sufficient in terms of forages while also diversifying into nut crops.

The teVelde dairy is north of the proposed annexation on Ave 328. Dairies typically own acreage around their dairy to provide a home for their dairy waste and to grow feed crops for their cows. So, it’s not unusual that teVelde owns substantial acreage nearby.

Jay, Jr. penned a paper for his CalPoly studies in 2016 mentioning some family history: “The family finds its dairy roots all the way back to George teVelde, the owner’s grandfather. George immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands in 1920. After arriving in California, George found a job as a milker in southern California. Over time George saved up enough to buy some cows of his own. He was fortunate to have the support of his boss, who helped him get started. George spent much of his working life adding to his business. Eventually George’s sons discovered their own passion for the dairy industry. One of his sons, Jay TeVelde, branched off and started his own dairy. Jay, like his father, spent most of (his) working life expanding his business. Also like his father George, Jay’s children discovered a passion for the dairy industry.”

Flurry of construction

This new annexation project is happening after a flurry of industrial construction took place in the past few years. Now the boom in industrial building activity has turned quiet in the past year. That can be seen by the shiny new 1.2 million square-foot spec building constructed by CapRock completed earlier this summer that sits empty for now. The building on Plaza north of Riggin is a close replica of two other Amazon buildings nearby. But Amazon remains mum on whether they would lease this massive building as well.

CapRock bought several sections of the land on the northeast corner of Plaza and Riggin in the 1990s from a farm family. They worked for a decade unsuccessfully trying to attract major logistic players to Visalia until they did. The big boom began when CapRock sold the corner of Plaza and Riggin to UPS for a Central Valley shipping hub. Many industrial firms use UPS for their daily package shipments.

At the time the paper reported “The Visalia UPS super hub’s location is critical, says CapRock’s Pat Daniels, because “only the Visalia/Fresno area can reach 99% of California with overnight shipments. The UPS Fresno facility is landlocked for growth and the current Visalia UPS terminal is quite small. On July 10, UPS pulled their permit for the shell of the building valued at $21.2 million. The general contractor is Layton Construction.”

CapRock set off the Visalia logistics boom, selling acreage to UPS that became a 450,000 square-foot package distribution hub that opened in 2020. That was followed by construction of the 1.1 million square-foot Amazon fulfillment center, operational as of 2021.  Between the two locations, 1,700 people are employed. That was followed by a second Amazon warehouse now operating.

As the paper has noted before, it took 60 years, 1958 to 2018, for the Visalia Industrial Park to get to 16.6 million square feet. But it may take just a few years, say 2018 to 2024, to double that square footage with all the million-square foot warehouses on tap. Looking at land, the district had 381 acres in 2018 and has already doubled that acreage today.

Not unlike the expansion of retail on Mooney Boulevard from 1980 to 2000, where we saw a steady move to open land to the south, the Visalia Industrial Park has seen a steady move north to more open land and adding larger parcels. The recent move north also includes a big retail push along Dinuba Boulevard replicating many of the retail tenants we see on South Mooney. Retail has followed a rapid construction of homes in the north in recent years. That in turn has been allowed by the city council decision to open its city limits on all sides. But that was held back for a while by a lawsuit requiring ag land mitigation – now an adopted policy. Tulare County’s Local Agency Formation Committee, which oversees municipal district boundaries, has been busy mostly approving new annexations in Visalia at nearly all of its recent meetings.

The opening of vast tracts of land for new industrial uses has its pluses and minuses, you could say. For Visalia, opening all these industrial areas promotes new jobs and tax dollars and growth of the city that may be positive or not. The tracks of land are owned by over a dozen major players allowing for competition on land prices. That helps keep locating a large complex here much cheaper to build than in the big metro areas of California.

There might be a slowdown in tenant decisions to locate here. But a number of spec builders are building in anticipation that the gravy train will continue in the next year or two and that their investment in building before the tenant shows up will pay off. That will require more land. It appears Mr. teVelde is joining the crowd

https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2024/10/17/visalia-tills-crops-into-industrial-plants/

By Faughn Food Processing • Manufacturing 0 Comments

US Cold Storage in Tulare plans $76 mil expansion after food package deal

United States Cold Storage Inc. expects to complete an 8.56- million-cubic-foot refrigerated addition at its Tulare North warehouse in Tulare come February 2025. This $75.7 million expansion will include some of the industry’s latest storage and retrieval automation and bring the operation’s total space to more than 24.7 million cubic feet, the largest single footprint in the company’s network.

“I am thrilled for our fifth strategic expansion in Tulare,” said Rod Noll, USCS senior vice president for the Western Region. “This expansion reflects the continued growth of some of our major customers who are broadening their manufacturing capabilities. Specifically, we have a consumer-packaged goods customer relocating its business to northern California and to this facility.

“Meanwhile, we also look forward to contributing to the local Tulare business community and creating additional job opportunities.”

Tulare City Manager Marc Mondell added praise. “US Cold Storage has been a fantastic local employer and partner for over 20 years,” he said.  We are thrilled that they are making another large investment into their Tulare facility and look forward to many more years of successful collaboration.”

US Cold Storage plans to break ground for the attached expansion this month, which will ultimately include two new refrigerated rooms capable of storage down to -20F degrees. Officials expect by this November to complete a conventional storage space spanning 3.08 million cubic feet. A second, 5.48 million-cubic- foot room is scheduled to open in February 2025. That space will feature very narrow aisle storage serviced by a warehouse guidance system and semi-automated, turret-style storage and retrieval forklifts.

Upon completion, Tulare North will have approximately 98,500 available pallet positions. The addition also includes 23 more shipping and receiving doors for the operation’s dock, which will boast 73 doors after completion.

“Tulare North is one of our largest facilities in the West Region,” Noll added. “Being a multi-dimensional facility, it can handle a large range of storage temperature requirements. Offering the flexibility of food grade ambient, refrigerated, frozen, and ice cream storage temps allows us to customize our services for many types of customers and many stages of production.”

USCS first built its Tulare North operation in 2002 as a 3.4 million-cubic-foot dry warehouse. Tulare North also offers import and export services, rail handling and product re-pack services. It also is certified according to the BRCGS Food Safety Global Standard. USCS also services the area from a second Tulare operation, a 7.3 million-cubic-foot Tulare South facility, which also offers ambient and refrigerated storage. USCS’s cold storage and logistics network spans 40 sites from coast to coast, including nine California locations from Sacramento and south to Bakersfield.  The company is a subsidiary of the U.K.’s John Swire & Sons Ltd.

https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2024/02/05/us-cold-storage-in-tulare-plans-76-mil-expansion-after-food-package-deal/72451106007/
By Faughn Manufacturing 0 Comments

Agreement aims to put Fresno on the map for semiconductor-related opportunities

New partnerships seek to poise the Central Valley for a role in the growing semiconductor manufacturing industry.

On Wednesday, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and Councilmember Nelson Esparza travelled to San Francisco for the signing of a formal partnership memorandum of understanding (MOU) between global semiconductor manufacturing association SEMI; the City of Fresno; City of Clovis; California State University, Fresno; Fresno County Economic Development Corporation; and Silicon Farms Corporation (SiFa).

This agreement, the first of its kind in the Central Valley, is a step toward diversifying local economies, according to the mayor’s office.

The aim of the agreement is to place the Fresno region on the map as “open for business” for locating semiconductor supply chain and manufacturing facilities.

“This partnership is a monumental step towards ensuring that the semiconductor industry knows the advantages of the area and the support for their industry,” Dyer said. “Leveraging years of experience from the partners at Silicon Farms, Fresno is being positioned to have the best shot possible to capitalize on opportunities in the semiconductor industry.”

The MOU includes several elements, including “high-level” introductions by SEMI to semiconductor companies and related companies to SiFa and Fresno State.

There is also the intention that SEMI will use its global corporate and institutional framework to promote SiFa activities and Fresno State and encourage broad industry, government, and financial community engagement.

Atherton-based SiFa MANAGEMENT will fund and execute the agreed upon activities, events, programs, and partner services, unrelated to existing SEMI events.

Fresno State intends to establish a budget amount each fiscal year to support the execution of activities, events, programs, and partner services unrelated to SEMI events.

SEMI has 3,000 member companies worldwide, and its President and CEO Ajit Manocha said the semiconductor industry is expected to nearly double in annual revenue to $1 trillion around 2030.

“Adding new hubs such as the Central Valley will strengthen the semiconductor supply chain in the U.S. and globally,” Manocha said.

The Cities of Fresno and Clovis will assist with its resources to introduce SiFa and its related parties to local investors, property principals, and government officials.

EDC has intended obligations to support the overall strategy to enhance the efforts for the establishment of a High-Tech Park in the Fresno region.

“Our partnership with SEMI marks an important milestone for the Fresno region,” said Fresno County Economic Development Corporation President/CEO Will Oliver. “This collaboration will help diversify our economy, prepare local talent, and position the region to be part of the growing semiconductor industry, driving innovation and job creation for our community.”

By Faughn Manufacturing • New Developments 0 Comments

Refresco acquires VBC Bottling Company, beverage manufacturer in Modesto, California.

On April 2, Refresco completed the acquisition of the VBC Bottling Company, a family-owned contract manufacturer of premium beverages, strategically located in Modesto, California. This acquisition is a step forward towards Refresco’ s vision of ‘our drinks on every table.’ A key component of our strategy is to identify the right opportunities for acquisitions. This acquisition aligns well with our strategy as it provides strategic growth, key manufacturing capacity and enables Refresco to expand geographically. In addition, this investment provides us with capacity for strategic categories so we can support their fast growth.

CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs, commented:
“Acquiring VBC is another step in executing our proven Buy & Build strategy. The company’s strong customer base strategically located facility, and warehousing capacity further strengthens our footprint in North America. Additional canning capacity along the West Coast improves our ability to service all our contract manufacturing customers.”

Brad Goist, Chief Operating Officer at Refresco North America, said:
“This acquisition is a step forward towards Refresco’s vision of ‘Our drinks on every table.’ We will integrate VBC Bottling Company into our operations to better serve our customers and support their growth goals in the various categories where capacity is needed. I look forward to welcoming the more than 180 employees to the Refresco team and seeing what successes we accomplish together as a team and in the years to come.”

We are all excited about this great addition to our operations and give our new colleagues a warm welcome to the team!

https://www.refresco-na.com/na/stories/refresco-north-america-acquires-new-facility-modesto-california/

By Faughn Manufacturing 0 Comments

EVAPCO West

June 14th, 2024 marked a significant celebration of various milestones for a prominent employer in Madera, CA EVAPCO, Inc:

    • The Madera facility of EVAPCO opened its doors 45 years ago.
    • The latest addition, the Sierra Building, commenced manufacturing the new “Evo-Air” units.

About EVAPCO, Inc.

EVAPCO, Inc. is an industry-leading manufacturing company with global resources and solutions for worldwide heat transfer applications. We are dedicated to designing and manufacturing the highest quality products for the evaporative cooling and industrial refrigeration markets around the globe.

Founded in 1976, EVAPCO’s mission is to provide first-class service and quality products in the following markets:

    • Commercial HVAC
    • Industrial Process
    • Power
    • Industrial Refrigeration

The powerful combination of financial strength and technical expertise has established the company as a recognized manufacturer of market-leading products on a worldwide basis. We have earned a reputation for technological innovation and superior product quality by featuring products that are designed to offer operating advantages including:

    • Higher system efficiency
    • Environmentally friendly
    • Lower annual operating costs
    • Reliable, simple operation and maintenance
    • Sound reduction
    • Water management

Committed to providing the most advanced products in the industry – Technology for the Future, Available Today!

https://maderacounty-edc.com/evapco-west-celebrates-45-years-in-madera-ca/

By Faughn Manufacturing • New Developments • Workforce 0 Comments

California’s new steel facility in 50 years coming to Kern County

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — California’s first new steel production facility in 50 years is set to be built in Kern County. On Wednesday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the $540 million project by Pacific Steel Group. Chevron fined millions by state agencies for oil spills in Kern County. The “zero process carbon emissions rebar mill” will be constructed near Mojave. The group also released an artist’s rendering of the project. The mega facility is expected to create around 400 full-time jobs and 515 construction jobs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/california-s-new-steel-facility-in-50-years-coming-to-kern-county/ar-BB1kiZZo#

By Faughn Food Processing • Manufacturing • New Developments 0 Comments

US Cold Storage in Tulare plans $76 mil expansion after food package deal

United States Cold Storage Inc. expects to complete an 8.56- million-cubic-foot refrigerated addition at its Tulare North warehouse in Tulare come February 2025.

This $75.7 million expansion will include some of the industry’s latest storage and retrieval automation and bring the operation’s total space to more than 24.7 million cubic feet, the largest single footprint in the company’s network.

“I am thrilled for our fifth strategic expansion in Tulare,” said Rod Noll, USCS senior vice president for the Western Region. “This expansion reflects the continued growth of some of our major customers who are broadening their manufacturing capabilities. Specifically, we have a consumer-packaged goods customer relocating its business to northern California and to this facility.

“Meanwhile, we also look forward to contributing to the local Tulare business community and creating additional job opportunities.”

Tulare City Manager Marc Mondell added praise. “US Cold Storage has been a fantastic local employer and partner for over 20 years,” he said.  We are thrilled that they are making another large investment into their Tulare facility and look forward to many more years of successful collaboration.”

US Cold Storage plans to break ground for the attached expansion this month, which will ultimately include two new refrigerated rooms capable of storage down to -20F degrees. Officials expect by this November to complete a conventional storage space spanning 3.08 million cubic feet. A second, 5.48 million-cubic- foot room is scheduled to open in February 2025. That space will feature very narrow aisle storage serviced by a warehouse guidance system and semi-automated, turret-style storage and retrieval forklifts.

Upon completion, Tulare North will have approximately 98,500 available pallet positions. The addition also includes 23 more shipping and receiving doors for the operation’s dock, which will boast 73 doors after completion.

“Tulare North is one of our largest facilities in the West Region,” Noll added. “Being a multi-dimensional facility, it can handle a large range of storage temperature requirements. Offering the flexibility of food grade ambient, refrigerated, frozen, and ice cream storage temps allows us to customize our services for many types of customers and many stages of production.”

USCS first built its Tulare North operation in 2002 as a 3.4 million-cubic-foot dry warehouse. Tulare North also offers import and export services, rail handling and product re-pack services. It also is certified according to the BRCGS Food Safety Global Standard. USCS also services the area from a second Tulare operation, a 7.3 million-cubic-foot Tulare South facility, which also offers ambient and refrigerated storage. USCS’s cold storage and logistics network spans 40 sites from coast to coast, including nine California locations from Sacramento and south to Bakersfield.  The company is a subsidiary of the U.K.’s John Swire & Sons Ltd.

https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2024/02/05/us-cold-storage-in-tulare-plans-76-mil-expansion-after-food-package-deal/72451106007/

By Faughn Distribution • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Another Industrial Tenant Signs at Tejon Ranch in Southern California

Another industrial tenant is moving its operations to part of the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center (TRCC) on the biggest piece of private land in California. The joint venture of Tejon Ranch Company and Majestic Realty Company announced Tuesday that CSW Industrials’ RectorSeal, which manufactures heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing products, is moving from Los Angeles into half of a 480,000-square-foot facility at the expansive master-planned development in southwestern Kern County. The asking rent and lease rate were not disclosed.

The developer said it has secured more than 2.5 million square feet of industrial leases at TRCC over the past 24 months. The 1,450-acre development is at the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, about an hour north of the L.A. basin. It’s also home to distribution centers for tenants that include Ikea, Camping World, Caterpillar, Dollar General, Famous Footwear and L’Oréal.

Last month, Tejon Ranch Company announced it closed a $160 million unsecured revolving credit facility with AgWest Farm Credit to fund construction projects, farming and ranching operations, and pay for general corporate expenses.

JLL (JLL)’s Mike McCrary, Mac Hewett, Brent Weirick and Peter McWilliams manage the TRCC listing and represented the landlords on the RectorSeal transaction. Walt Chenoweth and Sean Sullivan with Voit Real Estate Services represented RectorSeal.

https://commercialobserver.com/2023/12/industrial-tejon-ranch-southern-california/

By Faughn Food Processing • Manufacturing 0 Comments

Tulare cheese plant expansion to make more feta

The world’s largest cheese maker is now hoping to capitalize on America’s fastest growing cheese product by expanding its plant in Tulare. Lactalis, the world’s largest cheese maker, filed plans with the city earlier this month to expand the cheese plant on Highway 99 it acquired in a merger with Kraft in 2021. The company wants to add a new 38,300 square foot building that will produce and package feta cheese. Construction is expected to start soon and be ready for use by December. It will operate on a 24/7 schedule and hire some 22 new employees, according to Lactalis.

The new facility could be the first large commercial production of feta cheese in California other than boutique and artisanal makers. Lactalis already markets its brands of feta cheese under various labels including its top seller, President.

Feta cheese is a pickled curd cheese with a salty and tangy taste due to its coupling with brine solution. Popular in Greek cooking the product has taken off in the US (like Greek yogurt) and now is expanding rapidly due to increased use in the fast food industry. In comparison with other cheeses, Feta is a low-fat variety often used on salads and Mediterranean dishes. In Europe and elsewhere, feta cheese is often a blend of cow milk with goat or sheep milk. Here it will be just cow’s milk.

A recent report says “The global feta cheese market size was valued at $10.5 billion in 2019, and is anticipated to reach $15.6 billion by 2028, with a [compound annual growth rate] of 5.7% during the forecast period. The market is expected to exhibit an incremental revenue opportunity of $5.0 billion from 2019 to 2028.”

Already the world’s leader in cheese production, Lactalis acquired a portfolio of iconic cheese brands from Kraft including Cracker Barrel, Breakstone’s, Knudsen, Hoffman’s and a perpetual license for the use of the Kraft brand in natural, grated and international cheeses. Lactalis also acquired the Cheez Whiz brand outside the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and the Philippines and a license for the use of the Velveeta brand in natural and international cheeses. The acquisition included approximately 750 employees and three production facilities located in Tulare, Calif., Walton, N.Y. and Wausau, Wisc. The Kraft/Lactalis plant in Tulare currently employs around 250 people to make mozzarella and parmesan varieties and now feta.

In 2021 before the acquisition of Kraft, the U.S. Department of Justice required Lactalis to divest itself of Kraft’s Athenos, the top selling feta cheese brand in the U.S., and Polly-O brands. They did that. Now Athenos is owned by a Swiss-based company called The Emmi Group.

The Tulare plant and Lactalis’ other U.S. businesses are operating as Lactalis Heritage Dairy, a newly formed division of Lactalis based in Chicago. Groupe Lactalis, the world’s leading dairy group, is a French-family business founded in 1933 in Laval, France. Present in 51 countries, with 266 dairies and cheese dairies throughout the world, its 85,000 employees promote milk in all its forms: cheese, drinking milk, yogurts, butters and creams, dairy ingredients and nutrition. The company also offers products from emblematic international brands such as Président, Galbani and Parmalat.

https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2023/02/16/tulare-cheese-plant-expansion-to-make-more-feta/?mc_cid=3eba9e1a1a&mc_eid=d813f251f8

By Faughn Distribution • Manufacturing • New Developments 0 Comments

Tesla Presents Its New Megapack Factory In Lathrop, California

Tesla’s all-new battery energy storage system (BESS) factory in Lathrop, California is almost ready and is ramping up production. This week, the company showed a short video, presenting the plant and some of the production processes, on its Linkedin profile. Tesla is now looking for more employees – but that’s not a surprise, as basically the entire EV industry is investing and competing for workers. The site in Lathrop is pretty big as it’s envisioned for an annual output of 40 GWh of Tesla Megapack systems (according to the announcement from 2021).

A single Megapack container has a capacity of about 3 MWh, plus all necessary power electronics. At 40 GWh, Tesla should be able to produce more than 13,000 Megapacks per year. That’s an order of magnitude increase compared to its 2021 output. With the new manufacturing facility, Tesla’s Energy business is now expected to quickly expand. The company recently set a new quarterly record of 2.1 GWh of battery energy storage system deployment (all types).

Once the Lathrop plant is completed, more than 10 GWh to be installed per quarter. That will be a groundbreaking change for the entire industry and potentially a huge help to utilities, which are looking for high-volume and reasonably priced battery systems. Tesla’s advantage will be large BESS like the Megapack, series production at high volume and use of the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry (the company previously announced the switch to LFP cells in entry-level version of its cars – Model 3/Model Y, and energy storage systems).

Currently, BESS accounts for only several percent of Tesla’s total revenues and margins are much lower than in the case of cars. Because the company is quickly expanding its EV business (higher production of cars and new models), we guess that in the foreseeable future, BESS share will remain under 10%.

https://insideevs.com/news/618643/tesla-megapack-factory-lathrop-california/