Litehouse kicks off $6.2M expansion
CAROLINE LOBSINGER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 8 months AGO
Litehouse President and CEO Jim Frank talks to employees at the Ella Avenue facility shortly before members of the management team and others symbolically kicked off its $6.2 million expansion by ripping into a wall with a sledgehammer. The work is expected to be completed by June 2017. —Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER Litehouse President and CEO Jim Frank pulls back with a sledgehammer to hit a wall as the Sandpoint-based company kicked off a $6.2 million expansion of its Ella Avenue facility. The work is expected to be completed by June 2017.
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER A member of the Litehouse executive team punches a sledgehammer through a wall as the Sandpoint-based company kicked off a $6.2 million expansion of its Ella Avenue facility on Friday.
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER Litehouse employees watch a video of one of them hitting a wall with a sledgehammer during the company's groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER Members of the Litehouse Foods management team pose for a photo at the conclusion of Friday's groundbreaking cereomony. Instead of a traditional shovel, team members used a sledgehammer to kick off a $6.2 million expansion project by starting the demolition themselves.
—Photo by CAROLINE LOBSINGER Members of the Litehouse Foods management team pose for a photo at the conclusion of Friday's groundbreaking cereomony. Instead of a traditional shovel, team members used a sledgehammer to kick off a $6.2 million expansion project by starting the demolition themselves.
I grew up in the Tri-Cities, Wash., and have always loved to write. I attended the University of Washington, where I earned a double major in journalism and political science, with an area of emphasis in history. I am the fifth out of six kids — don't believe any of the stories that my siblings tell. To be able to tell others stories and take photos for a living is a dream come true — and I considered myself blessed to be a community journalist. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, hiking and spending time outdoors, genealogy, reading, and watching the UW Huskies and the Seattle Seahawks. I am a servant to my cat, Frankie, who yes, will eat anything and everything in sight … even wedding cookies. | December 10, 2016 12:00 AM
SANDPOINT — With a mighty whack of the sledgehammer, Litehouse Foods’ $6.2 million expansion of its Ella Avenue facility got underway Friday.
Starting with Litehouse president and CEO Jim Frank, one by one, members of the executive team took their turn to rip a gaping hole into the side of the former tasting room. Each whack of the hammer was greeted with the cheers and applause of nearby Ella employees.
“Really what this moment is about for Litehouse today is that we’ve had plans to refurbish, expand and really make the Ella property up-to-date and nice,” Frank told those gathered just before taking up the sledgehammer. “We’ve had those plans for a long time so today is the symbolic day and once we start knocking this wall down, there’s no turning back so let’s get it done.”
Friday’s event officially kicked off the Sandpoint-based company’s $6.2 million 26,000-square-foot addition to its original plant, often referred to as “the house the Sam’s built,” after Litehouse got its product into Sam’s Club, fueling the need for a previous expansion of the plant and necessitating the vacation of much of Walnut Street.
The Ella facility, where dairy- and oil-based dressings and fruit dips are manufactured, is the largest of Litehouse’s three Sandpoint facilities. With the expansion, the current 120,000-square-foot plant will include a new cooler, a shipping and receiving center, loading docks, updated employee break rooms and facilities and a recently completed 4,000-square-foot wastewater treatment facility. The work, the first of several phases, should be completed by June 2017.
“This is a big moment,” Frank said. “Once we knock that wall down, we’re on our way to expanding and refurbishing the entire Ella facility. It’s a very, very exciting thing.”
The expansion allows Litehouse to keep growing and keep bringing jobs to the community, Frank said. And because there was no way Litehouse was going to quit doing business while it remodeled the plant, phasing was the only option.
Litehouse will receive tax incentives for its investment in the buildings and its structural components. Additionally, a tax incentive will be granted to Litehouse for equipment and machinery included in the expansion; these exemptions will be in effect at varying levels over the next five years.
As he handed off the sledgehammer to the next member of the Litehouse executive team, Frank grinned.
“This is a lot more fun than a traditional groundbreaking,” he said, mimicking digging into dirt with a shovel.
Information: LitehouseFoods.com
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