16 CapitalPress.com
October 23, 2015
Ag economy drives Fabri-Kal’s
decision to build plant in Burley
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
Courtesy of Wilbur-Ellis
Wilbur-Ellis Co. marks the grand opening of its new dry fertilizer
storage and blending facility Oct. 7 in Moses Lake, Wash. The
facility allows the company to provide farmers with fertilizer
more efficiently, a Wilbur-Ellis spokesperson says.
Wilbur-Ellis opens
fertilizer facility
in Moses Lake
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Wilbur-Ellis Co. has
opened a new dry fertilizer
storage and blending facility
in Moses Lake, Wash.
The new facility allows
farmers to receive their fertil-
izer in a quarter of the time
it used to take, said Sandra
Gharib, corporate communi-
cation specialist, Wilbur-El-
lis Co.
“One of the big changes
that we have recently seen is
the need to be able to service
our customers faster,” Ghar-
ib said. “As the equipment
in the field gets larger and
the farmer can cover more
acres in a day, our need to
be able to supply the farmers
with the inputs they need in
a timely manner also grows.”
The company’s facilities
needed to be updated several
years ago, Gharib said.
The facility was de-
signed to consolidate fertil-
izer blending activities from
multiple locations into one
regional hub, according to a
Wilbur-Ellis press release.
It includes a high-speed re-
ceiving system for railcars
and trucks, multiple loading
towers and a high-intensity
mixer.
“The new fertilizer
blending equipment is the
most advanced available
on the market today, and
provides our customers
with high-quality, preci-
sion-blended
fertilizers,”
Gharib said. “Our cus-
tomer’s needs are always
changing, and we are always
investing to meet those
changing needs.”
Wilbur-Ellis will continue
to look for areas in the North-
west and around the country
to make investments in infra-
structure, Gharib said.
BURLEY, Idaho — Of-
ficials with a high-tech food
container manufacturer said
they chose to build a local
plant based largely on the
abundance of Magic Valley
wheat and the site’s proxim-
ity to the Twin Falls Chobani
yogurt factory.
During an Oct. 15 rib-
bon-cutting ceremony and
grand opening for the new
Fabri-Kal plant, company of-
ficials explained they’ll need
wheat as the main ingredient
in a unique, new line of crop-
based bowls, trays and to-go
containers.
The opening of the Bur-
ley facility should also save
Chobani nearly $3 million in
shipping of Fabri-Kal yogurt
cartons, said Dan Thomas,
chairman of the board with
the Kalamazoo, Mich.,-based
company. Last year, Chobani
awarded Fabri-Kal an exclu-
sive contract to supply con-
tainers.
State and local dignitaries
and economic development
officials at the ceremony
lauded the new business as
the latest example of contin-
ued growth in Idaho.
“One of the great assets
the Magic Valley has is the
agricultural economy. This
is a great example of that
expanding to the next lev-
el,” said Jeff Sayer, director
of the Idaho Department of
Commerce.
The 100,000-square-foot
facility is located on a former
dairy and was built in just
over six months. Fabri-Kal
invested about $10 million in
construction and equipment
and plans to employ about 50
By Tim Hearden
Capital Press
RED BLUFF, Calif.
— 4-H members from
Manton, Calif., felt a
keen sense of empathy
for ranchers and
others who lost their
homes and property in
the recent Valley Fire
in Northern
California.
Manton, in the
northeastern
California foothills
east of Red Bluff, has
had several encounters with wildfires in recent years,
including the nearly 30,000-acre Ponderosa Fire, for which the
tiny town was evacuated in the late summer of 2012.
“We were close” to the flames three years ago, said 4-H’er
Caleb Ramos, 12, adding that he was thankful he didn’t lose
his home to the fire. “But some of our friends did.”
Ramos and his friend, 11-year-old Alex Vieyra, were
among Manton 4-H members collecting animal medical
supplies at the recent Tehama District Fair in Red Bluff for
people with large animals affected by the Valley Fire
northwest of Sacramento.
The fire, which was 97 percent contained as of Oct. 1, has
burned 76,067 acres in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties,
destroying 1,958 structures and causing four fatalities.
Ranchers who had fled the area returned home to find that
some of their animals had survived, The Associated Press
reported.
“We thought we should help them because we got a lot of
help from people during the Ponderosa Fire,” Vieyra said.
The youngsters put out troughs for donated items during the
fair Sept. 24-27.
“We just thought about it and did it,” Ramos said.
In other 4-H happenings in California, according to a
statewide 4-H newsletter:
• 4-H students in San Benito County, near California’s
Central Coast, recognized a need to provide recreational
activities for school-age youngsters whose families can’t
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Officials involved in bringing the new Fabri-Kal container manufacturing plant to Burley, Idaho, cut the
ribbon during an Oct. 15 grand opening ceremony. The plant will use wheat straw to make certain
paper products and will produce Chobani yogurt cartons.
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Products made by Fabri-Kal are on display inside the new container
manufacturing plant in Burley, Idaho, during an Oct. 15 ribbon-cutting
ceremony and grand opening. The plant will use wheat straw to make
certain paper products and will produce Chobani yogurt cartons.
workers at the plant.
About 90 percent of the
construction labor force was
local, and about 100 work-
ers were onsite at the peak of
building, said Todd McDon-
ald, president of CSM Group,
the project’s construction
manager. The facility has
been designed to accommo-
date a future doubling of its
size.
“Our plan is to grow,” said
Brian Hackett, who will serve
as the Burley plant manager.
Hackett said Fabri-Kal
— a $350 million company
founded 65 years ago with
other locations in Michigan,
Pennsylvania and South Car-
olina — emphasizes giving
back to its communities.
Fabri-Kal’s foundation has
donated $13 million to lo-
cal causes, including United
Way, grants to local schools,
colleges and universities and
college scholarships for chil-
dren of employees.
financially afford to
sign them up for youth
sports leagues.
So students Erica
Leung, Jessica Ward
and Kelly
McCullough began a
service learning
Photo by Tim Hearden/Capital Press
project with the
theme, “Live Well,
Be Well,” which
focused on the
importance of
physical activity and
healthy eating.
With the help of a
civic organization,
Youth Alliance, the
youngsters held a
donation drive to
collect gently used
and new sports
equipment for local
after-school
programs and
planned three days of
visits at each school
to participate in
activities with the
students and bring
Austin Hood, right, of Bowman 4-H in
Tehama County, Calif., lets a small boy pet
healthy snacks,
his calf Sept. 25 at the Tehama District Fair
according to the
in Red Bluff, Calif.
newsletter.
Photo by Tim Hearden/Capital Press
• With National 4-
H Week occurring Oct. 4-10, statewide 4-H leaders honored the
adult volunteers, instructors and team leaders who make all of
the youth organization’s activities and programs happen.
In the last program year, 19,403 adult and teen volunteers
contributed 1,464,225 total volunteer hours to 4-H in California.
“We can literally say thanks a million to you, our volunteers,
the backbone of 4-H,” state 4-H Foundation executive director
Paula Allison wrote in the newsletter. “Your gifts of your time
and resources make our work possible.”
Caleb Ramos, right, 12, holds a
donated bag of veterinary wrap as
Alex Vieyra, 11, looks on. The two
4-H members from Mandon, Calif.,
were participating in a medical
supplies drive for ranchers with
large animals who were impacted by
the Valley Fire in Northern
California.
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