Carruthers professional staff to relocate to Astoria

Published 5:00 pm Friday, July 31, 2009

A story about a business downsizing is rarely good news. Recently, however, the willingness of a company to consider alternatives – and creative financial assistance from Clatsop Economic Development Resources- resulted in a simple facilities downsizing that ensured the continued presence in the area of the company’s professional staff, and their accompanying payroll of over half a million dollars a year.

Carruthers Equipment Company in Warrenton is a food-processing equipment manufacturer with a 60-year history in the area. Carruthers was purchased by Kansas-based Catalyst Equity Group in 2007. Soon thereafter, the business’ manufacturing, assembly and warehouse operations were moved to Kansas or were outsourced to other companies.

Remaining at the Warrenton location at that time were nine Carruther’s professional staff members. They included the company’s design engineers, sales and marketing staff, and service personnel. The approximately 31,000 sq. ft. of space Carruther’s occupied was excessively large and not cost-efficient for such a small staff.

The search for a smaller facility occurred as the lease on its present location was about to expire, said Adam Anderson, Catalyst president. He confirmed to CRBJ that his company has agreed to a four-year lease of the space formerly occupied by P&L Johnson Mechanical in a building located at 441 30^th St. in Astoria.

The new site, which Carruthers will move into on Nov. 1, will provide 7,500 sq. ft. of space. The building is owned by Fred Van Horn.

The cost for the move and transition were in the neighborhood of $60,000. CEDR stepped in to assist Catalyst financially, making the relocation to Astoria extremely palatable and off-setting Carruthers possible move out of the area.

CEDR, a public/private economic development organization that launched about six months ago, assisted in securing a $30,000 state economic development loan for costs associated with the move to the new facility. The company won’t have to repay the loan if it retains, at the minimum, the current level of staffing in the local area for the duration of the four-year lease.

“The company is making a significant (investment) in transition costs and improvements” at its new location, said Rick Gardner, CEDR director. “And we wanted to help make it more attractive for the company to retain these well-paying jobs in Clatsop County.”

Funding for the loan comes from the state’s Regional Investment Fund and was awarded for the local project by the Northwest Oregon Economic Alliance.

In transitioning its local operation to Astoria, the company’s parent owner is committing to keeping Carruthers main operations in the area.

Making the move to the Astoria building will be all nine of Carruthers’ professional staff who currently work at the Warrenton facility. Nearly all of the local staff members are long-time Carruthers’ employees, with an average length of service with the company of 20 years.

“These (employees) are the lifeblood of the company,” Anderson said. “They know the business better than anybody.”

Anderson said it was always his goal to keep Carruthers’ core operations in Oregon.

“Carruthers has had a 60-year tradition in Oregon,” he told CRBJ. “We want the company to be there another 60 years.”

Improvements at its new facility will include a state-of-the-art test kitchen where newly-designed food processing equipment will be evaluated and demonstrations will be held for the company’s clients, said Bob Zschoche, Caruthers’ chief engineer.

“We want to create a showcase test kitchen that will be the most modern in the industry,” Zschoche said.

In addition to getting a new address, Zschoche said Carruthers’ staff soon will receive specialized training to expand their professional skills and help them keep ahead of their competition.

MTC Training and Placement Services will provide the classes, which will include training in the use of the Computer Aided Design/Computer Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system, office skills and Spanish classes.

Zschoche lauded Catalyst’s shareholders and company officials for their commitment to keeping Carruthers’ core operations in Oregon.

“It took a significant commitment on the part of Catalyst to keep us here,” he said. “I think it shows (Catalyst) recognizes the skills that we have here are important to the company’s success.”

Founded in 1945, Carruthers Equipment Company manufactured the first automated tuna-filling machine. Today, the company is a leading designer and manufacturer of specialized food processing equipment sold worldwide for a variety of applications, including dry filling, viscous filling, slicing, dicing, shredding and portioning. The company’s customers include such leading food processing companies as Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Del Monte Foods, Kraft Foods, Nestle Smithfield, Transocean and Tyson Food.

Catalyst Equity Group, based in Hutchinson, Kansas, invests in and operates small businesses primarily in the food processing and metal fabrication industries.