PROGRESS 2015
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Housing starts rebound
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Hill Meat Co. a Pendleton staple
Districts place focus on STEM programs
Shearer’s makes big strides in 2014
BOARDMAN
Port of Morrow a recession-buster
Expansion
continues in
eastern Oregon
BY GEORGE PLAVEN
EO MEDIA GROUP
The Port of Morrow
continues to cement its sta-
tus as the economic engine
of eastern Oregon after an-
other strong year of growth
in 2014.
Two companies com-
pleted multi-million dollar
expansions of their facil-
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oversaw a number of infra-
structure projects designed
to make the East Beach
Industrial Park even more
attractive for new develop-
ment.
Despite an economic
recession that spiked Or-
egon’s unemployment to
near-record highs, the port
actually saw 88 percent
growth between 2008-2013.
By mid-2013, port-related
businesses boasted nearly
4,000 direct jobs and $1.6
billion in annual output.
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stered further in 2014, as
Lamb Weston cut the rib-
bon on a $200 million ex-
pansion of its frozen potato
plant and Tillamook Cheese
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pansion of its cheese-mak-
ing facility to process whey
and lactose powder.
Together, they added
about 140 new jobs tied
directly to the region’s agri-
cultural base. The port now
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all direct employment in
Morrow County, according
to a 2013 economic report.
Gary Neal, general man-
ager at the Port of Morrow,
said their success attract-
ing business is the result
E.J. HARRIS PHOTO
The Port of Morrow saw new investments in 2014 with the $200 million expansion of the Lamb Weston frozen potato facility.
of forward-thinking steps
that have added up over
time. Companies looking
to build in rural areas like
Boardman have a few spe-
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in the marketplace, he said:
shovel-ready land, reliable
transportation, water and
electricity, all of which the
port has readily available.
“This is where the infra-
structure comes together
where we can create these
jobs,” Neal said.
Lamb Weston’s project
increased its capacity to
produce an additional 300
million pounds of french
fries per year, while Tilla-
mook now has the ability
to make lactose powder
and dried whey protein on
site — instead of sending
the leftover milk to another
location.
Mark Wustenberg, Til-
lamook’s vice president of
quality and operations, said
they had no reservations
about making the invest-
ment locally, in part be-
cause of their good working
relationship with the port.
“Working with them
through (the project) was a
great process,” Wustenberg
said. “They were very ac-
commodating.”
In order to keep busi-
nesses happy, Neal said the
port is constantly making
improvements at its indus-
trial park. That includes
$15-$16 million worth of
capital projects during the
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upgrades and a new cold
storage building for frozen
vegetables.
E.J. HARRIS PHOTO
Tillamook Cheese finished a $90 million expansion of its
cheese-processing facility at the Port of Morrow this last
year.
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on Lewis & Clark Drive,
connecting east to Highway
730 and providing an ad-
Port of Morrow, by the numbers
The Port of Morrow, located in Boardman, is Ore-
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gon’s second-largest port behind the Port of Portland. It Analysis:
is run by a staff of about 50 employees and governed by
• $1.6 billion in annual economic output
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• $266 million in labor income
There are 57 port-related businesses with a total
• $48 million in state and local tax revenue
employment of 6,850 — not including the recent ex-
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pansions at Lamb Weston and Tillamook Cheese. That
• Return on investment shows one local job is created
EUHDNV GRZQ WR GLUHFW MREV LQGLUHFW MREV or retained for every $15 in local tax revenue collected
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by the port
ditional point of entry into
the port. Neal said this will
relieve congestion of trucks
heading in and out from the
interstate.
Additional roads were
also paved off of Lewis &
Clark Drive east of Colum-
bia Avenue, opening about
1,000 acres of land for de-
velopment.
In November, the Ore-
gon Department of Trans-
portation approved a $6 mil-
lion matching grant to help
build a 100,000-square-
foot cold storage building,
which will be linked to the
industrial park by a 2,500-
foot rail spur.
The warehouse is ex-
pected to handle 150-200
million pounds of frozen
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as processors continue to
grow.
“It’s going to be a cata-
lyst for a bunch of oppor-
tunities,” Neal said. “We’re
very excited about that.”
Looking ahead to 2015,
Neal said the port is once
again in position for a big
year. Kodiak Carbonic, a
company based in Ama-
rillo, Texas, is building a
$7 million plant to liquefy
carbon dioxide generated at
another port business, Pa-
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Kodiak will purchase
200 tons of carbon dioxide
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nol. Liquid carbon dioxide
can be used to make dry ice.
“It’s a good use of a by-
product coming out of the
ethanol process, and it’s
good for the environment,”
Neal said.
A Minnesota-based com-
pany, Novus Energy, also
hopes to have the funding
in place to break ground on
a proposed anaerobic diges-
tion plant that would take
food scraps and manure to
make natural gas.
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project, however, remains
in limbo. Coal exporter
Ambre Energy had intend-
ed to ship coal from Wyo-
ming and Montana to Asia
through a rail-to-barge ter-
minal at the port, though
the Oregon Department of
State Lands denied a permit
needed to build in the Co-
lumbia River.
Both the port and Ambre
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heard by an administrative
law judge in December.
Neal said the agency’s de-
cision has resulted in an un-
fortunate delay, wrapped up
in emotion and politics.
“For us, it’s important
to continue to have termi-
nal operations available to
move commodities,” Neal
said. “We don’t get caught
up in what that commodity
may or may not be.”
Taking a moment to re-
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it was another productive
year that sets the stage for
2015 and beyond.
“We have a lot more work
ahead to accomplish our mis-
sion and our goals,” he said.