Food processing company could bring at least 70 jobs to Forest Grove

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Chaucer Foods will be one new company to fill currently vacant industrial space in Forest Grove.

(Kari Bray/Forest Grove Leader)

An international food processing company that hopes to locate its first U.S. facility in Forest Grove could bring with it more than 70 new jobs in its first year of operation, according to city officials.

Chaucer Foods, which specializes in the production of freeze-dried ingredients and croutons, has signed a lease for an existing 84,600 square-foot industrial building at 2238 Yew St.,

Chaucer has manufacturing sites in France, China and the United Kingdom and sells products in more than 30 countries across the globe,

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The lease for the Forest Grove space does have a back-out clause and the company is continuing its research, Economic Development Coordinator Jeff King noted.

Chaucer isn't the only project that could eat up some of Forest Grove's unused supply of industrial space – more than 600,000 square feet in existing buildings and an estimated 120-plus acres of vacant land, according to a list of available industrial sites as updated by King.

Summit Foods Inc, a Cornelius-based fruit processor, is taking over a 31,000 square-foot industrial building on B Street, the former site of Cedar Canyon Bottled Water. The company is currently renovating the building and will bring in between five and seven new jobs, possibly more in the future, King said.

Pacific Air Switch Corporation, Pascor, is also expanding its current manufacturing facility in Forest Grove, adding 17,000 square feet and a new storage area. The expansion is essentially complete, King said, and is bringing in seven new jobs.

"Then we also have a lot of projects that are not quite ripe yet," he said.

The city is aiming to recruit businesses to fill vacant industrial and commercial spaces, a number of which emptied during the recession. King said the city has three key strategies for luring new businesses.

First, Forest Grove has an enterprise zone that qualifies industrial businesses for property tax exemptions for several years, sometimes longer. Second, there are some city business incentives that can waive permit and licensing fees. Finally, Forest Grove offers some of

and electrical rates in the area, King said.

There is no firm timeline for when Chaucer might begin operations, but Summit should be going by Jan. 1, 2014, King said.

–Kari Bray

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