Tetra Pak, the Vancouver-based arm of a global builder of packaging for various foods and beverages, is seeking to expand its local plant to make room for new manufacturing equipment.
Under an application filed with the city, the company wants to construct two buildings: a 3,315-square-foot structure and a 1,780-square-foot addition. They would be built at the company’s current site, which is home to a 142,000-square-foot facility at 1616 W. 31st St. in the Fruit Valley neighborhood. The location is zoned for light industrial purposes.
It’s unclear whether the additional buildings also mean the company is adding jobs. A representative of the local plant referred inquiries to a spokesperson in Texas, who could not be immediately reached for comment.
A 2012 Columbian story pegged the number of people employed by Tetra Pak locally at 145. Globally, Tetra Pak employs 23,425 people, according to the company’s website, and does business in more than 170 countries.
The company is known for its aseptic packaging technology which extends the shelf-life of perishable food products and allows them to be shipped to areas of the world lacking refrigerated transportation and storage systems.
In Vancouver, the company’s factory specializes in gable-top packages of all sizes for milk, juice, and other liquid and food products. Tetra Pak’s proposed expansion comes as employment growth in Clark County flourishes. The most recent labor market data show the region added 6,200 jobs in the 12 months ending in December 2014. That’s an annualized growth rate of 4.4 percent, which tops the growth rates of the U.S., Washington and Oregon, and the Portland metro area.
Clark County’s manufacturing sector chipped in 400 new positions, accounting for 6 percent of the year-over-year job growth.
Examining Tetra Pak’s proposed expansion, the city of Vancouver recently decided the project won’t have a significant negative impact on the environment. That determination, made under the state’s Environmental Policy Act, means no environmental impact statement is necessary.
Andrew Reule, associate planner for the city, said the company is currently making some minor changes to its building application, which was filed by Vancouver contractor RSV Building Solutions. Once that’s done, and the city gives the application another review, the city will issue a final decision in about 28 days.
The city is expected to approve Tetra Pak’s building proposal. “This one looks pretty straightforward,” Reule said.
In an environmental checklist submitted to the city, Tetra Pak says dust and other air emissions aren’t expected to increase from current levels with construction of the two buildings. In controlling water runoff, the company says it will meet or exceed the city’s water quality and quantity standards. Meanwhile, existing vegetation at the site “will be preserved to the greatest extent possible,” according to the checklist, which includes fencing to protect existing trees. Also, six additional trees will be planted to comply with the city’s tree conservation ordinance.
