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THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2022
AUG . 17-2
146th Year, No. 103
WINNER OF THE 2022 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
INSIDE FIND OUT ABOUT PIONEER DAY IN GO!
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BOARDMAN FOODS
TAKES THE SPOTLIGHT
Sam the Robot waits to carry more onion
boxes Monday, Aug. 15, 2022, at Boardman
Foods in Boardman. The company named
the robot after Vice President of Operations
Debbie Radie’s father, who was the fi rst
employee at Boardman Foods.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Oregon Business & Industry’s
manufacturing roadshow
rolls into the Port of Morrow
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
B
OARDMAN — Boardman
Foods at the Port of Morrow
in Boardman was center
stage Monday, Aug. 15, for
Oregon Business & Indus-
try’s 2022 statewide manu-
facturing and innovation
roadshow.
OBI asked elected offi -
cials, industry leaders and economic devel-
opment partners from across the state to
join its tour Aug. 3-17 of more than 2,000
miles and 20 stops. Boardman Foods and
the Port of Morrow were the lone highlights
in Northeastern Oregon.
The Port of Morrow is the second busi-
est of Oregon’s 23 ports. Among its diver-
sifi ed industries are food processing plants;
frozen, refrigerated and dry warehousing
and Amazon Web Services data centers.
Boardman Foods’ facility processes
fresh and frozen onions, peppers and
other produce and is at the intersection
of two interstate highways, adjacent to a
major rail line and the Columbia River.
These transportation links support conve-
nient shipping to regional, east coast and
international markets.
It is a family business, not a subsidiary
of a giant food company, Boardman Foods
President Brian Maag explained.
“When my grandfather and his broth-
ers came from Ireland around 1918, all the
best land in Oregon had already been home-
steaded,” Maag said. “They took out some
of the last claims on juniper, hard rock and
rattlesnake land, but managed to make a
go of it by raising sheep. One brother went
back to Ireland. The others managed to buy
out other scrub land claims and raise cattle.”
The now predominantly onion proces-
sor employs 250 to 300 people, depending
upon the season. The premises cover 15
acres. Floor space is devoted about equally
to manufacturing and storage.
“In 1990 we moved to the Port of Morrow
to be closer to potatoes,” he said. “We were a
private-public partnership, but it was hard to
get ordinary commercial loans. U.S. Bank
eventually took a chance on us.”
The onion business comes in three main
product lines, selling to about 50 compa-
nies, including giants such as Conagra
Brands.
State-of-the art operations
First, Boardman Foods packs premium
fresh onions to suit customers’ specifi c
quality, size and packaging needs in all
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Boardman Foods President Brian Maag hosts a tour of the facility Monday, Aug. 15, 2022,
for the Oregon Business & Industry bus tour group at the Port of Morrow in Boardman.
colors, package sizes, fl avors, varieties
and ring specifi cations. Boardman Foods’
state of the art storage facility enables the
company to supply customers a quality
fresh northwest onion year round. Its slogan
is, “We give you the best, because we have
a home for the rest.”
Two other processes add value. Fresh
whole peeled onions provide a fi rm, succu-
lent product ready to slice and dice. Peeled
onions are ideal for use in soups, sauces
or any recipe needing a fl avor kick. Upon
entering the facility, the latest vegetable
processing equipment sizes, tops, tails and
peels onions to customers’ specifi cations.
Individually quick frozen onions provide
food manufacturers a steady, consistent
year round supply at a competitive price.
Sweet Spanish or Grano onions are cut to
customers’ specifi cations using the latest
vegetable processing equipment.
“It takes a lot of energy to freeze onions
and store them in a warehouse kept below
freezing,” Maag said. “Going from 33 to 32
degrees is a lot less energetic than making
the state change from liquid to solid.”
See Food, Page A7
Grain Craft team visits Pendleton after mill fi re
Structural engineer
assesses facility
to determine
extent of damage
By JOHN TILLMAN AND
PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Offi cials from
Grain Craft on Friday, Aug. 12, visited
Pendleton in the aftermath of the fi re
that ravaged the company’s fl our mill
two days earlier.
Grain Craft confi rmed President
and CEO Pete Frederick, Senior
Vice President of Operations Wade
Blalock and Chief Human Resources
Officer Jeff Zierenberg all came.
Umatilla County Commissioner
George Murdock reported the Grain
Craft team were on hand to assess the
damage at the mill and meet with local
offi cials. Grain Craft offi cials also met
with the 22 employees of the mill to
provide them reassurance.
Grain Craft spokesperson Natalie
Faulkner said while many variables
remain in play, Grain Craft continues
to focus on its team members and the
community.
Fire on Aug. 10, tore through the
mill. Fire departments around the
region responded to help Pendleton
Fire Department take on the blaze.
There were no reports of injuries, but
Pendleton Fire Assistant Chief Tony
Pierotti reported silos were at full
capacity of fi nished grain, so the fi re
fuel load was extreme.
County Commissioner John Shafer
said he asked the Grain Craft team a
few questions, including about the
future of the mill. But he said it was
too early to provide any conclusions.
A structural engineer planned to
assess the facility on Aug. 17. Shafer
said the grain elevator and the fl our
storage house at the mill might be
OK, but the structural assessment will
make that determination.
James Reeder of Athena operates
The Outlying Perspective, a drone
aerial photography and inspection
service. He said he is creating a 3D
scan of the mill for the assessment.
“It’ll output a 3D model of the
building, or what’s left of it,” he said.
The data can help fi gure out how to
pull down structures and fi nd if there
are hot spots inside.
Smoke from the fi re continues, and
Pendleton Assistant Fire Chief Tony
Pierotti said there have been a few fl are
ups. The city put up a chainlink fence
around the mill, blocking access to it,
and some streets near the mill now
are open to traffi c. However, South-
east Emigrant Avenue remains closed
between Fourth and Sixth streets, as
does Southeast Fourth Street between
Emigrant and Frazer avenues.
Former Pendleton Flour Mill offi -
cial Tony Flagg moved back to Pend-
leton from retirement in Florida on the
Fourth of July this year and weighed
in on the fi re.
“The fi re is quite a tragedy,” he
said. “The business has been around
for 112 years.”
Flagg was the Pendleton Flour
Mills vice president of grain oper-
ations from 1983 to 2003. He was
See Fire, Page A7