WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
9
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
OUTSKIRTS BOARDMAN
All aboard the Cap. Al James tugboat
The Capt. Al James’s steel pusher-style tug boat is ready for a closeup
Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, by the Columbia River Heritage Trail in Board-
man. The ship was designed to withstand the currents of the Columbia
River.
The tugboat Capt. Al James on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, is a permanent display along the Columbia River Heritage Trail in Boardman.
The sun glistens on the historical Capt. Al James tugboat display Thurs-
day, Aug. 18, 2022, along the Columbia River Heritage Trail in Boardman.
The Columbia River is visible
Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, from the
stern of the Capt. Al James tug-
boat on display near the Columbia
River Heritage Trail in Boardman.
The sun rises Thursday,
Aug. 18, 2022, over
the tiny white histor-
ical information hut
alongside the Capt. Al
James tugboat on dis-
play near the Colum-
bia River Heritage Trail
in Boardman.
PHOTOS BY YASSER MARTE
Hermiston Herald
Boardman Foods takes the spotlight on tour
BY JOHN TILLMAN
Hermiston Herald
Boardman Foods at the Port
of Morrow in Boardman was
center stage Aug. 15 for Oregon
Business & Industry’s 2022 state-
wide manufacturing and inno-
vation roadshow.
OBI asked elected officials, in-
dustry leaders and economic de-
velopment 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 busiest of Oregon’s 23
ports. Among its diversified
industries are food processing
plants; frozen, refrigerated and
dry warehousing and Amazon
Web Services data centers.
Boardman Foods’ facility pro-
cesses fresh and frozen onions,
peppers and other produce and
is at the intersection of two in-
terstate highways, adjacent to a
major rail line and the Columbia
River. These transportation links
support convenient shipping to
regional, east coast and interna-
tional markets.
It is a family business, not a
Yasser Marte/Hermiston Herald
Boardman Foods President Brian Maag hosts a tour of the facility
Aug. 15, 2022, for the Oregon Business & Industry bus tour group at the
Port of Morrow in Boardman.
subsidiary of a giant food com-
pany, Boardman Foods Presi-
dent Brian Maag explained.
“When my grandfather and
his brothers 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 ju-
niper, 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 on-
ion processor 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 com-
mercial loans. U.S. Bank eventu-
ally took a chance on us.”
The onion business comes in
three main product lines, selling
to about 50 companies,
including giants such as
Conagra Brands.
W ELCOME TO
STATE-OF-THE ART OPERATIONS
First, Boardman Foods packs
premium fresh onions to suit
customers’ specific quality, size
and packaging needs in all col-
ors, package sizes, flavors, va-
rieties and ring specifications.
Boardman Foods’ state of the art
storage facility enables the com-
pany to supply customers a qual-
ity 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 pro-
vide a firm, succulent product
ready to slice and dice. Peeled
onions are ideal for use in soups,
sauces or any recipe needing a
flavor kick. Upon entering the fa-
cility, the latest vegetable process-
ing equipment sizes, tops, tails
and peels onions to customers’
specifications.
Individually quick frozen on-
ions provide food manufacturers
a steady, consistent year round
supply at a competitive price.
Sweet Spanish or Grano onions
are cut to customers’ specifica-
tions 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 liq-
uid to solid.”
Processing ready to eat prod-
ucts occurs in a sterile environ-
ment.
“We designed the facility in
2017 to minimize the possibil-
ity of coliform bacteria or other
pathogens collecting on surfaces,”
Maag said. “Workers’ shoes are
scrupulously disinfected. The on-
ions are cooked at 180 degrees.
The overpressure our ventilation
system provides is maintained
at the highest level in the ready
to eat space. We’ve never had a
recall.”
A powerful magnet removes
any metallic fragments from
processed onions before packag-
ing. And robots have taken over
much of the packaging process,
Maag said.
“Packaging risks accidents, so
we adopted robotics for safety
concerns,” he said.
Sam the Robot, named for
the company’s first employee,
Operations Vice President and
Debbie Radie’s father, carried two
45-pound onion boxes.
Tom Flaherty, Maag’s cousin
and sales vice president, empha-
sized the importance of transpor-
tation links.
“One railroad car carries as
much as four trucks,” he said.
“When trucking companies were
short drivers during the pan-
demic, then diesel fuel took off,
we were able to take up the ship-
ping slack thanks to our Union
Pacific main line rail connection.”
WORK ETHIC CONTINUES
Boardman Foods organized
the Families First Childcare Cen-
ter, 255 Olsen Road, to help re-
tain and recruit workers during
the pandemic.
“Forty to 50 school-age kids at-
tend day care center,” Radie said,
“and up to 20 preschoolers will
join them this year.”
The next generation of his
family has the same work ethic as
their Irish immigrant ancestors,
Maag concluded, citing his son
Patrick, plant support manager.
Following the visit to Board-
man Foods, roadshow partic-
ipants had an opportunity to
meet local business leaders at the
nearby SAGE Center. The center
is an interactive museum high-
lighting sustainable agriculture
and energy in Morrow County.
• Hot, Iced &
Blended Espresso
Drinks
• Hot & Iced Tea
• Smoothies & Lotus
• Cookies, Croissants
Bagels & Muffins
B OARDMAN
DID YOU KNOW?
We use traditional
hand made, pull
espresso machines!
103 SE Front St., Boardman, OR • 541-701-7445
Store
MON - FRI 9 AM – 6 PM
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101 Kinkade Rd
Boardman, OR 97818
Phone (541) 481-9474
Fax (541) 945-1460
MurraysDrug.com
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