| Press Release |
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| October 24, 2006 |
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Governor visits Amy's Kitchen in White City, Oregon
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Governor throws switch, opens Amy's Kitchen in Medford area
Kulongoski’s economic development team lands huge food operation
White City, Oregon—Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski threw a switch today, and symbolically started up production in the Medford area’s new Amy’s Kitchen plant, a huge facility that covers 185,000 square feet and will employ 250 people.
“The fact that Amy’s Kitchen has chosen to locate in Medford is the climax of a story that’s still being written—an exciting story with a simple moral,” the Governor told a crowd of Medford business leaders, local officials and workers. “When the state partners with local government and the private sector, when we roll up our sleeves and coordinate our efforts to reach out to businesses and tell them about the exciting opportunities Oregon offers, when we mobilize our resources to smooth the way for companies like Amy’s Kitchen, great things can happen for Oregon.”
The Governor toured the Amy’s Kitchen food production plant with owners Andy and Rachel Berliner, chatting with workers and well-wishers along the way.
Factors that led to Amy’s Kitchen move to southern Oregon include low electric power costs, low workers’ comp costs, and the fact that farmers grow over 240 agricultural crops in the Willamette Valley, the Governor said. The company learned about the site through a presentation at a Los Angeles trade show in 2003 by members of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc., on the advantages of doing business in Oregon. The Governor’s economic development team followed up on the presentation, which ultimately led Andy Berliner to visit Medford and check out the potential site.
“The rest—as they say—is history,” the Governor said. “Thanks to a lot of hard work by many dedicated people, we’re standing here today, welcoming Amy’s Kitchen to Oregon.”
The Governor also lauded the economic progress the state has made over the past three years. When he took office in 2003, Governor Kulongoski directed the state’s economic development team to engage the private sector and local governments in creating jobs. At that time Oregon had an unemployment rate of 8.6 percent—the highest of any state in the country.
“My administration set a target of creating 17,000 new jobs in Oregon during our first term,” the Governor said. “We set out to attract new industries, companies, investments and innovation to Oregon. We made it our business to retain companies in Oregon and help businesses expand here. And, of course, we launched an aggressive effort to attract new businesses to our state.”
Thanks to that effort, Oregon didn’t gain 17,000 new jobs. It gained more than 117,000 new jobs. The state now has the fifth-fastest-growing state economy in America.
“We’ve attracted wonderful new companies to Oregon, and they’ve brought thousands of new jobs and major investments to our state—companies like Amy’s Kitchen, Lowe’s, Royal Caribbean, Yahoo, Wachovia, Google, MathStar, and Genentech,” the Governor said. “And I pledge to you today that this is just the beginning.”
Media Contacts:
Lonn Hoklin: 503.378.6169
Charlie Burr: 503.378.6496
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