Onward: Four big Redmond businesses expanding amid recession, pandemic
SnoTemp expansion completed in late 2019, BASX Solutions breaks ground; Medline, Central Oregon Medical Specialist also growing
(Update: adding video, more info, comments from Redmond Economic Development official)
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In the midst of a recession and health crisis, Redmond city officials told NewsChannel 21 Wednesday industrial projects are at an all-time high. Four major businesses in Redmond have already completed or are undergoing facility expansions, despite the many issues and uncertainties raised by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Since the last recession that officially ended in 2009, 2010, we've had anywhere between two and five construction projects going on in the industrial side of Redmond," said John Stark. senior director at Redmond Economic Development Inc. "Today, you've got five-plus."
One of those businesses is BASX Solutions, a firm that makes data center cooling and other high-tech systems, which announced Wednesday it just broke ground on a 75,000-square-foot, high-bay manufacturing expansion at its Redmond headquarters on Southwest 21st Place.
The other three growing firms are SnoTemp, a food fulfillment center that offers storage and other services, which finished its expansion last November 2019 at Kingwood Avenue and Northeast 9th Street; Medline, a medical device reprocessing facility, set to undergo a 52,000+-square-foot expansion on Northeast Hemlock Avenue, doubling its space; and Central Oregon Medical Specialists, in the process of a 6,000-square-foot expansion on Northwest Larch Drive.
"Suffice to say, while other parts of our economy are hurting due to COVID, there are several parts of our economy that is really exploding right now with these company expansions," Stark said.
Stark credits that to the unwavering demand for manufacturing and medical services during these times.
That’s good news for the Bend-Redmond area, whose unemployment rate was last reported at nearly 16% in May.
All four of those companies are already some of the largest in Redmond, with more than 400 employees combined. Stark said these expansions will open up 15 to 100 new jobs.
"Plus, these properties going in are additional tax revenue for our local jurisdictions and taxing districts," Stark said.
City officials could not give an estimated figure on just how much tax revenue these four projects would bring in. However, the numbers do show the residential, commercial and industrial permit valuation for 2020 is at more than $70 million, a 34% increase from last year.
Here's the press release BASX Solutions sent out Wednesday on its expansion:
REDMOND, Ore. -- BASX Solutions announced today it has broken ground on a 75,000 square foot high-bay manufacturing expansion at its headquarters in Redmond, OR.
This expansion project will allow for a consolidation of operations and a substantial increase in manufacturing capacity. Additionally, the added building space will allow for the installation of several new pieces of automated machinery to further enhance manufacturing efficiency. When complete, BASX Solutions will have approximately 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space at its Redmond facility.
Members of REDI, EDCO, The Redmond Chamber of Commerce and Mayor George Endicott joined the BASX Solutions senior leadership for a ground breaking ceremony. “BASX Solutions is an incredible company and part of the Redmond community,” said Mayor George Endicott. “Their new building will be most impressive and we are excited to see them optimize their industrial efficiencies with this new facility. The BASX Solutions technology and team are considered the best in the air handling, data center and cleanroom industry. We are blessed to have them in Redmond!”
“The BASX Solutions team is excited to be able to further expand our footprint and capacity within Redmond and Central Oregon,” stated Matt Tobolski, BASX Solutions President and Co-Founder. “This expansion project will help us continue to aggressively support our customers in the data center, cleanroom, commercial and industrial markets. In addition to creating more jobs in the region, the purpose-built space and additional equipment to support our operation will greatly increase our efficiency and speed to market in these critical industries.”
Matt went on to say, “This has certainly been a unique time to undertake this project considering the impacts of COVID-19. Operating in this current environment has had numerous impacts on supply chain logistics and the manufacturing operation as appropriate safeguards were implemented to ensure worker safety. We were fortunate to have strong financial partners and lending support to continue on with this planned expansion.”
Dave Benson, BASX Solutions CEO and Co-Founder notes, “The Redmond community has been an amazing supporter of BASX from day one when we started our operation here 6 years ago. It is not often that you have the pleasure of working in an environment that supports industry as much as the City of Redmond, from the Mayor, to REDI, the Chamber and the entire building department. We are proud to call Redmond home and look forward to many years of continued growth and support from and for our community.”
ABOUT BASX SOLUTIONS
BASX Solutions is an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of high efficiency data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, custom HVAC solutions and modular products. Headquartered in Redmond, OR since 2014, the BASX team has a steadfast commitment to customer service and delivering on their promises while providing the highest quality products throughout the world. For the past 40 years, the leadership team has been recognized as leaders in the development of industry-changing innovation and are widely recognized for changing the way fans are applied in modern HVAC equipment.
