The Modesto Bee
By John Holland, jholland@modbee.com
August 4, 2016
The Modesto area rates high for a consultant who helps food and beverage companies decide where to set up shop.
The Boyd Company Inc., in a new study on operating costs for processing plants, said Modesto’s are the lowest among five locales it analyzed in California. It also praised the area’s job-training efforts and its ability to move products by road, rail, ship and air.
California Economic Summit
By Ed Coghlan
July 28, 2016
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
That quote is commonly attributed to Walt Disney. But it also describes the new San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance, a group of companies and local partners working to support a sector that’s vital to that region.
“Some people campaign to reduce income inequality,” said Jim Mayer, CEO of California Forward. “But in Fresno, business and government leaders are working together to make it happen — by training workers and creating jobs that pay more than minimum wage.”
The Fresno Bee
By Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado, cdelgado@fresnobee.com
July 27, 2016
Agriculture leaders and entrepreneurs gathered Wednesday in downtown Fresno to lay the groundwork for a mission to make Fresno an agriculture-technology leader.
On the eve of Thursday’s Fresno Food Expo, about 60 people convened at the Fresno Convention Center for the Riding the Crest of the Third Wave in the Food Capital of the World summit hosted by Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.
The meeting was a chance for agriculture producers and young software companies to share a space and come up with strategic ideas on how to merge advanced technology with agriculture to produce goods more efficiently.
The Modesto Bee
By John Holland, jholland@modbee.com
May 26, 2016
Food processors meeting Thursday in Modesto heard concerns about water supplies, the complex rules on air pollution, and the need to improve trucking routes.
But never mind that – those were some cool robots that high school students demonstrated at the front of the banquet hall.
The Manufacturers Council of the Central Valley, mainly representing food and beverage companies from San Joaquin through Merced counties, held its 25th annual meeting.
EDA Newsletter-March 2016
March 21, 2016
Assistant Secretary Jay Williams along with EDA Policy Advisor Julie Wenah and EDA Director of Public Affairs Breelyn Pete attended the 2016 Manufacturing Summit on March 3 in downtown Fresno. Mr. Williams was a keynote speaker at the Summit where over 500 gathered for the day long event that included multiple informational breakout sessions with a wide array of topics.
To learn more about the summit and to view pictures, visit sjvrici.org
Valley Vision
By Trish Kelly, Evan Schmidt and Adrian Rehn
March 16, 2016
On March 2nd and 3rd Valley Vision trucked down Highway 99 (and saw beautiful wildflower blooms along the way!) to Fresno, California.
As you may know, the Central Valley – 28 counties from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south – was designated as an Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) region by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). Regional partners formed the Central Valley AgPlus Food and Beverage Manufacturing Consortium (AgPlus) to implement the region’s IMCP strategy for accelerating the growth of manufacturing in the Valley.