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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (May 12, 2021)
BUSINESS Wallowa County Chieftain A6 Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Business brings living wages to county BIZZ BUZZ By Bill Bradshaw J OSEPH — Rick LaFave is bringing to Wallowa County something many have noted the county sorely needs — jobs that pay a living wage to as many as 25 people. His Renaissance Design Fab- rication & Powder Coating com- pany is slated to open at the end of Russell Lane just outside of Joseph about May 20, he said on Wednes- day, May 5. “I’m not going to base the wages on what they are in Wallowa County,” he said. “My wages are going to be based on what my com- pany does as a whole. So if I have a welder/fabricator making, say, $22 an hour over in Forest Grove doing the same job, he’s going to be mak- ing $22 an hour here. It’s the scale of how the company is set up. It doesn’t matter if it’s here, North Plains or Forest Grove. I’ve got three shops and they’re all on the same scale.” The Joseph operation will be LaFave’s third such shop. He and wife, Carey, also own a couple restaurant/bars and a commercial/ residential painting company on the west side of the state, as well as two holding companies through which he’s bought commercial properties. The couple also recently purchased the Imnaha River Bed & Breakfast, which Carey will operate. LaFave said the 17-year-old RDF&P largely caters to the high- tech industry. “Everybody from Micron, Intel — anybody who’s big into the high tech, we supply them with the goods to build ‘clean rooms’ where they make (computer) chips,” he Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Rick LaFave stands by the control computer for the sheet metal shear used to cut metal at his Renaissance Design, Fabrication and Powder Coating business just outside of Joseph on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. He plans to open the shop about May 20. said. “They build a plant and I sup- ply a lot of the steel stuff that goes into those plants.” LaFave said his shop is special- ized in terms of the equipment it uses for computer chip machines, and that these tool pedestals are always being upgraded. “Most often, when that happens, they change out the whole tool and every tool has a diff erent foot- print and it sits on a raised-access fl oor and I build the frames that go underneath them — the pedestal,” he said. “That turns us multiple millions of dollars a year.” In fact, the payroll for his 100- plus employees is around $3 mil- lion a year, he said. He off ers a full slate of benefi ts to both hourly and salaried employees. “I’m basically just the president and CEO and I let them do their jobs,” he said. Of course, most of that payroll won’t be in Wallowa County, but a large portion will be. He said his two shops on the west side are cur- rently buried in back orders and he plans to direct the overfl ow here. He has a fl eet of about 50 trucks that can haul raw materials and fi n- ished products. LaFave said he’s planning to hire almost entirely local people. The only person he plans to bring from the west side is Greg Doty, who will serve as shop foreman. “Experienced welders, they’re going to range anywhere from $18.50 to $24 an hour, depending on what they know,” he said. Welders don’t have to be experts in the work they’ll do at RDF&P. He said he plans to have them trained at his Forest Grove shop. “If a guy can weld, we can teach him the rest,” he said. “We can make welders better welders.” He also plans to hire a salesman who is familiar with the county and its residents — who has the “gift of gab.” “I’m looking for someone who grew up around here, knows all the farmers, the fi sh and wildlife,” he said. LaFave is already eyeing expan- sion. At present, he’s leasing the building where he’ll soon open, but he’s in discussion with the owner about buying it. He’s also talking about purchasing an adjoin- ing building to house expanded operations. He’s also considering expanding into Idaho. “I’m contemplating Boise next,” he said. “I have custom- ers there who’d like me to open up something.” The company’s name — RDF&P — fully describes what it’s about, LaFave said. The R, for Renaissance, evokes a prestigious quality. Also, his prior company — Rick’s Fasteners — had a promi- nent R in the logo. The Design por- tion is about designing whatever the customer wants. Fabrication is what they do with the design. Powder coating is electrostatic fi n- ishing process using a powdered acrylic-type paint applied in a paint booth. The steel gets a negative charge and the paint powder gets positive charge, which makes them stick together. Then, they’re baked in oven. “To get powder coating in Wal- lowa County, you’d have to go to Lewiston or La Grande,” he said, adding that he believes RDF&P may be the only company in Ore- gon that does an entire project from start to fi nish. As for the Imnaha River B&B, the LaFaves plan that as a “desti- nation location,” handling group events that will book the entire place and it will otherwise be closed. “I don’t want to take business away from the Imnaha Hotel,” LaFave said. “They’re good people down there. If one couple or two couples are coming to town, I’d rather they stay at the hotel.” Overall, he’s hoping his busi- ness ventures in the county will be seen as a plus. “It’ll be good for Wallowa County. Like I said, I’m going to be hiring local,” he said. “I like Joseph and Enterprise, the small- town feel.” ——— Bill Bradshaw is a reporter for the Wallowa County Chieftain. Have a business tip? Contact him at 541-398-5503 or bbradshaw@ wallowa.com. & Skylight Gallery Church Directory Finding books is our specialty CLUES ACROSS 1. Generous helpings of 1-Down 6. Dish soap brand 10. ___ Air (tablet) 14. Ready for a renter 15. Indonesian honeymoon destination 16. Forbidden act 17. Exit’s opposite 18. Reason for a hung jury 20. New ___ music 21. Brainstorming output 23. Makes angry 24. “Slaughterhouse-Five” novelist 28. Attended, or departed 29. Punishment for a toddler 33. Type of flute 36. Lady ___ (singer at Biden’s inauguration) 37. Basis for some vaccines, briefly 38. Prominent members of orchestras 43. Only just get, with “out” 44. Poker holding 45. Popular e-reader 46. Savoy Theatre’s London district 48. Like Beethoven, late in life 51. Spirit with Peppar and Mandrin flavors 56. “Lo and behold!” 59. Predator of the deep 60. Take sides? 61. Inflatable river ride, and what 18-, 24-, 38- or 51- Across contain? 64. “Let me run that errand” 66. Consumer price index subj. 67. Binary digits 68. “Back to Me” singer Lindsay 69. Message status 70. Partner of “turn” 71. Pigs, collectively CLUES DOWN 1. Porterhouse, e.g. 2. Cute sound? 3. Make tweaks to Joseph United Methodist Church Grace Lutheran Church 3rd & Lake St. • Joseph Pastor Cherie Dearth Worship Online Phone: 541-432-3102 409 West Main - Enterprise AND In Person For More Info Worship Online at 541-432-3102 JosephUMC.ORG JosephUMC.org SUNDAY WORSHIP at 9am Pastor Cherie Dearth Pastor John B. King Jr phone (message): 541-426-4633 web: gracelutheranenterprise.com Enterprise Christian Church St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church 85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449 We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am (Guidelines observed) Sunday School at 10:30 Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00 100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise NE 3rd & Main St 541-426-3439 Worship Service Sunday 9:30am David Bruce Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church Lostine Presbyterian Church Discussion Group 9:30 AM Worship Service 11:00 AM Childrens program during service Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com 4. Honey source 5. Try hard 6. Part of AWOL 7. Marie Kondo’s country of birth 8. Against ___ odds 9. Top number on a sundial 10. Beckon, as trouble 11. Where you might see a noodle or a float 12. Cost of a 44-Across 13. Accomplishes 19. President elected in 1948 22. “White Noise” novelist DeLillo 25. What the animals boarded Noah’s Ark in 26. Citation abbr. 27. Model Hadid 30. Roughly 31. “... ___ us a son is given” (Isaiah) 32. Chore 33. Three or four, say 34. Social media approval 35. ___ leches cake 36. Shiva, e.g. 39. What lawyers pass 40. Vehicles for moving 41. Intro to Chinese? 42. Facts and figures 47. Knack 48. Being under it is threatening 49. “I could keep going, but I won’t”: Abbr. 50. Is of benefit 52. Frontal and occipital 53. New ___ (world capital) 54. Elena of the court 55. Set things right 56. Competes (for) 57. The second “O” of YOLO 58. Privy to 62. Tater ___ 63. Cinco - cuatro 65. Down in the dumps 107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351 www.bookloftoregon.com Summit Church Sundays at 9:30 am and 11 am at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise. Masks are required - but made available at the door. Pastor: David Pendleton 541.398.0597 Hwy 82, Lostine www.summitchurchoregon.org Stephen Kliewer, Minister Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828 Wallowa Assembly of God 702 West Hwy 82 Wallowa, Oregon 541-886-8445 Sunday School • 9:am Worship Service • 10:am Pastor Tim Barton Visit Us on Seventh-Day Adventist Church & School 305 Wagner (near the Cemetery) P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828 Church 541-426-3751 School 541-426-8339 Pastor David Ballard 503-810-9886 Worship Hour 10:30 a.m. - Noon Christ Covenant Christ Covenant Church Church Pastor Terry Tollefson Church Office: 541-263-0505 Family Prayer 8:30 a.m. Sunday School 9:00 a.m. Worship 10:00 a.m. 723 College Street, Lostine Enterprise Community Congregational Church Join us at the BIG BROWN CHURCH Sunday Worship 11:00 am Sunday Worship 11:00 am Bible Studies: Bible Studies: Sundays 9:30 am & Sundays, 9:30 am & Thursdays, 5:30 pm Thursdays, 5:30 pm Led by Lay Pastor Archie Hook 301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR Find us on Facebook! 541.426.3044