WARDEN, Wash - Developers and city officials broke ground on a new canola processing plant Wednesday in Warden, Washington. The new plant could create annual demand for as much as $200 million in new canola seed purchases.
Pacific Coast Canola chose the Warden location because infrastructure, such as grain silos and railways, was already in place. "And the city of Warden is just a great place to do business because they want the project so much," said Joel Horn, President of Pacific Coast Canola. Actual construction will begin on the new $109 million facility in the very near future.
Once the plant is complete it should provide approximately 35 new permanent jobs to an agricultural community struggling in today's economy. "35 jobs means a lot to our city," said Roldan Capetillo, Mayor of Warden. "I don't think it's going to employ everybody that's unemployed and that's not what matters. "Once those paychecks are coming back home that's what matters." But Pacific Coast Canola
President Joel Horn says this will employ hundreds of other people than just those working at the plant. "There's grain buyers, people that are selling the oil there's the folks that are driving the truck and the trains, so there's lots of jobs that happen outside the fence," said Horn.
The facility is expected to produce almost 2.4 million pounds of canola seed a day. Horn says many other industries in the region use canola, which will keep all of that money purchasing seed in the local economy.
"We could purchase as much as $200 million a year in Canola seed, and then we turn it into Canola meal and canola oil which can be used right here in the community in the state of Washington and the pacific northwest," said Horn.
Construction of the plant is expected to be complete by January 2013.
This story was filed by KHQ Local News Photojournalist & Reporter Mike Perry
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