Lamb Weston Starts Building New Storage Center
Lamb Weston broke ground this month on a USD3.4m storage center in Pasco, Washington, USA.
The 50,000sqf building is keyed to an expansion of the frozen potato giant’s Richland manufacturing center, where it is investing USD200mto build a second French fry line.
It is the largest buyer of Washington-grown potatoes. “With the expansion in Richland, we’re going to need more potatoes, so we’re going to need more potato storage,” explained Shelby Stoolman, spokeswoman for Lamb Weston, according to the local press.
Construction in Richland is on track to open the line this fall as planned, Stoolman said.
The expansion will add 128 jobs in Richland and will increase Lamb Weston’s appetite for Mid-Columbia potatoes by 300 million pounds a year. No new jobs are associated with the Pasco storage project.
Lamb Weston’s existing facility in Richland employs approximately 500 people, and was built in 1972. The company has several offices and facilities in the Tri Cities, including an Innovation Center in Richland, corporate offices in Kennewick, and two additional manufacturing facilities in Pasco. Lamb Weston is one of the largest employers in the Columbia Basin, with approximately 4,500 employees in the region.
