Mid Valley Foods kicks off work on facility in Oakdale

OAKDALE — Mid Valley Foods held a groundbreaking Thursday for its new $2.8 million facility, which will let the wholesale food distributor triple its production and hire more workers.

Mid Valley will be leaving Riverbank to expand here. The expansion has been four years in the making.

The food distributor had planned to build in Oakdale but balked after the city wanted $140,000 in permit fees. The company then eyed Riverbank's former Army ammo plant turned industrial park, but that didn't work out.

In the meantime, Oakdale had revamped its building fees to make them more competitive. Mid Valley is paying $70,000 for a larger lot and slightly larger facility.

Mayor Farrell Jackson said some of the city's fees didn't make sense, such as collecting for a drainage basin that had been paid for by older development. The fees also dropped because of declining land values because of the economic downturn.

Jackson — who is running for re-election — told the three dozen or so city, county and other officials at the groundbreaking that it was a great achievement for a business to expand and add workers during the recession of a lifetime.

The facility will be 23,900 square feet on more than three acres at Ackley Circle, near Albers and Warnerville roads. The lot is big enough for Mid Valley to build on to its facility as business grows.

Mid Valley's new facility should open in February, said Cheri Casey, who owns the 18-employee company with her husband, Les.

Mid Valley Foods long ago outgrew its 13,000-square-foot facility in downtown Riverbank and has had to turn away business.

The Caseys expect business to grow 25 percent within the first six months at their new site. And they expect to hire an additional 12 employees within a year to 18 months.

Mid Valley's primary business is supplying beef, chicken and pork to grocery stores, meat markets and other businesses. It also sells sour cream and cheeses.

Mid Valley is the second Riverbank firm that will be leaving town to expand.

Companies: About the bottom line

Rizo López Foods is buying the former Trim Masters plant in Modesto. The sale is expected to close in October.

Rizo López doesn't expect to start production in Modesto until early 2012. It will continue to manufacture in Riverbank after production starts in Modesto, but the bulk of its production will be in Modesto.

The company employs 150 workers in Riverbank and makes Latino cheeses, yogurts, creams and desserts.

Rizo López and Mid Valley had nothing but praise for Riverbank officials and said the decision to expand elsewhere was based on the bottom line.

For Rizo López, it's cheaper to buy a plant than to build one at the former ammo plant. Mid Valley officials said they could not get a definitive answer from federal officials on when they could build and couldn't wait any longer because they were losing business.

But Riverbank has had its successes at the former ammo plant. It has nearly tripled the number of tenants since taking over the site in April, from seven to 20.

And Green EnviroTech Corp. recently announced plans to open a plastics recycling plant there in early 2011.

Bee staff writer Kevin Valine can be reached at kvaline@modbee.com or 578-2316.