Lamb Weston’s new $200 million expansion at the potato processing plant on its Richland campus will boost output capacity by about 300 million pounds of frozen french fries annually.

The company is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world.

The state-of-the-art processing line created 150 new jobs for the local economy.

The main processing facility is a 250,000-square-foot building providing a sanitary space for processing potatoes.

The satellite receiving building is 43,000-square-foot, which allows Lamb Weston to sort and size raw potatoes for both the new production line and the existing facility.

The waste water facility included the construction of four new buildings with a total of 8,500 square feet.

Total construction used 500,000 square feet of walls, 27.5 miles of electrical conduit, 1,850 tons of steel and 19,500 cubic yards of concrete.

“This $200 million investment speaks to our confidence in the community of employees, growers and the support of our local and state partners. We’re proud to invest in Richland, the Tri-Cities and the state of Washington,” company officials said in a statement.

The project design was a joint effort between Lamb Weston central engineering and Fisher Construction Group, a company based out of Burlington, Washington. FCG specializes in food processing, cold storage, industrial and commercial projects.

The project was overseen by Lamb Weston central engineering staff, with construction and engineering services provided by FCG.

An official grand opening with community and civic leaders was held Oct. 16 when the line was fully functioning.

Lamb Weston is one of the largest employers in the Columbia River Basin. In the Tri-Cities, the company operates a corporate office in Kennewick, two manufacturing facilities in Pasco and an Innovation Center and Tech Center on the Richland campus.