Processing facility opens in Silver Springs

Processing held a grand opening last week for its 142,000-square foot processing facility in Silver Springs.

“We are pleased to have our operations up and going, and we will be scaling into full operations over the next few months,” said Richard Erickson, chief executive officer of the LaBudde Group, which owns the company. “We want to encourage the community see the operations now; there will be less opportunity for public viewing later due to U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Regulations.”

The Silver Springs facility processes beets, potatoes and tomatoes into dried, shredded and granulated products that are then shipped to major pet food companies. Winnemucca potatoes are one Nevada product that is used at the plant. In addition, sugar beets arrive from Idaho and tomato seed and skins are transported in from California. The company was drawn to the area due to its central location adjacent to agricultural areas in Idaho and California.

Meadows Bank provided a loan of $4.9 million guaranteed by USDA Rural Development. Meadows Bank also provided a $1.2 million working capital loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) CAP Lines Program. The borrower will also be contributing $1.6 million of their own funds for the real estate purchase, equipment, working capital and fees associated with the guaranteed loans.

Brad Tope, Meadows Bank chief lending officer, said he was pleased that Meadows was able to provide financing to Clean Dried Processing for its new facility in Silver Springs with the assistance of the USDA Business and Industry and SBA guaranteed loans.

“As a Nevada based bank, we are always looking for opportunities to lend in rural areas of Nevada as a complement to our branch and lending operations in Las Vegas, Reno, and Pahrump,” Tope said.

The funding is helping the business expand into the western United States. Clean Dried Processing is currently operating in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The company is over 109 years old and has a history of processing agricultural waste into other products. Labudde first started in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to process beer by-products.

“We are glad to be working in partnership to help bring a company of this caliber to Silver Springs,” said Sarah Adler, state director for USDA Rural Development. “We also know that the folks in Silver Springs are welcoming this opportunity and the chance to increase the number of good jobs in the community.”

Northern Nevada Development Authority worked with Clean Dried Processing’s parent company, LaBudde Group, to assist the Wisconsin-based company with their expansion to Northern Nevada. As part of that effort Northern Nevada Development Authority represented the company through the application process and the approval of state incentives.

Rob Hooper, executive director of NNDA, said, “This will be a big boost to the Silver Springs area. Not only will Clean Dried Processing be creating jobs, they will act as a catalyst for other companies to make the decision to move or expand to the area. This expansion has the potential to shape Silver Springs for years to come.”