Lamb Weston’s 300,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art expansion in Hermiston added a new processing line to the company’s existing facility.
The $250 million investment in the new line increases the Hermiston plant’s production capacity by about 300 million pounds of potato annually.
The expansion project took 18 months to complete.
The line began operating May 29. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was June 13.
Lamb Weston partnered with a number of vendors, a majority of them local, for this project.
JH Kelly of Longview, Washington, was the general contractor.
The building design was a collaborative effort between Lamb Weston’s engineering team and other subject matter experts.
The frozen potato industry leader is one of the area’s largest employers. More than 500 employees at the Hermiston plant will make nearly 750 million pounds of frozen french fries annually. The expansion adds about 150 jobs to the local economy.
The company operates 26 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, China and Australia.