Sports teams looking to improve their performance through development tell fans to “trust the process.”
On Tuesday, economic development officials provided details about “the process” of attracting new jobs and employers to the Yakima Valley during the Yakima County Development Association’s annual investor update meeting.
YCDA Executive Director Jonathan Smith moderated a panel discussion that closely examined and discussed the three-year process to recruit California-based Manzana Products to Sunnyside, creating 150 new jobs when its apple processing plant opens there in the middle of next year.
“We look for critical projects that make sense for our community and make sense for our work force,” said Joe Schmitt, the YCDA’s economic development manager. “(Manzana) was a good fit for what we have here already.”
Recruiting the 100-year-old business started with the Port of Sunnyside’s pursuit of a then-anonymous company, an effort dubbed “Project Cain” which began in 2021, said Jay Hester, the port’s executive director.
At first, Sunnyside officials tried to place the apple processing plant south of Interstate 82, on a 25-acre greenfield site. When that effort failed, Manzana became interested in the former Seneca Foods facility at 1525 S. Fourth St. Both Schmitt and private real estate owner/investor Larry Hull helped recruit Manzana to the site, Hester said.
“A lot of times, (companies) are looking for reasons not to go (somewhere),” Schmitt said. By collaborating with public and private Yakima Valley entities — including utility Pacific Power — the French-owned California food processing company committed to moving to Sunnyside, he added.
Manzana’s reasons for moving
When the plans for the Sunnyside facility were announced in February, Manzana CEO Andy Kay noted the company was established in 1922 in Sebastopol, Calif. – an area near Santa Rosa known as California’s “Green Valley.” It makes organic applesauce, juice, cider and vinegar products that are distributed across the United States and internationally.
Named after the Spanish word for apple, Manzana Products Company has seen California’s Sonoma County change from an apple-dominated agriculture economy to one of the country’s leading wine-producing regions over the past 100 years, Kay said.
As part of Tuesday’s panel discussion, Kay said the first reason for his company’s move is the strength of Central Washington’s apple industry.
“Right now, 80% of the organic apples we process come from Washington state,” he said, noting the economic and environmental costs to bring all that fruit to northern California.
Other reasons for the move include the transportation and wastewater treatment infrastructure available in Sunnyside and the experienced fruit processing workers already living here.
“Workforce availability has been a pleasant surprise,” Kay said. “Having a qualified, available and enthusiastic workforce is a key for us.”
Construction on the 275,895-square-foot building’s interior will be completed in phases and is expected to be finished by the second half of 2025, Kay said. The facility, which also will house the new company headquarters, should be in full production by the end of 2025 with 150 employees onsite.
In response to an audience question, Kay said Manzana will honor its existing contracts with Sonoma County growers, which provide about 10% of its apples. When those contracts expire in 2027 and 2028, however, it is likely that the 80% use of Washington organic apples for its products will increase.
Other economic development
Tuesday’s event at Yakima Valley College’s Kaminski Conference Center included a brief presentation from Jon DeVaney, chairman of the YCDA board of directors, on the organization’s accomplishments over the past year.
This includes more than $7 million in grants awarded by the Supporting Investment in Economic Development program, which funds public infrastructure to support private investment and job creation. YCDA’s Smith estimates those grants equated to more than 200 new and retained jobs in Grandview, Yakima and Yakima County.
Schmitt said his office received 37 requests from companies for information on relocating to the Yakima Valley, and the YCDA hosted 10 site visits in 2023.
Smith said when proposed projects don’t pan out, it’s not always that they are lost to other cities or regions. Oftentimes, economic conditions or other factors prevent the business from expanding or following through on their plans.
In other situations, Yakima County lacks certain criteria — such as data centers that need large amounts of power, water and other utilities, Schmitt said.
“Sometimes we’re just not as competitive as another area of the state, or another region,” he added.
The fourth member of the panel discussion, Clark Developing and Consulting owner Scott Clark, said his private business worked with the YCDA and Yakima County to help bring Amazon’s soon-to-open delivery center to Terrace Heights.
“We try to look at how many employees (projects) are going to bring to the valley,” Clark said. “(Amazon) will add a couple hundred full-time equivalent jobs during their high season — we’re really excited about that.”
When one of the event’s 125 guests asked if any other development projects are in the pipeline, Clark explained how many of his business dealings are covered by non-disclosure agreements.
But he did hint that his company, along with other private developers and public officials, are negotiating with another business that could bring “a couple hundred” more jobs to the Sunnyside area.
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