Betty Lou's Buys a New Building

December 2008

Betty Lou's buys a new building

Amid the gloomy economic environment comes exciting news about expansion and development on two fronts.

Betty Lou’s Inc., maker of the locally renowned Betty Lou’s Smackers, is vacating its 32,000-square-foot complex in the Granary District in favor of the 94,000-square-foot complex formerly occupied by the Skyline Corp. on Booth Bend Road.

Meanwhile, Kelly McDonald, who owns the space Betty Lou’s is vacating, is working to continue his renovation of the Granary District, bounded by Seventh, Alpine, Eighth and Lafayette.

He currently has three buildings for rent. He’s hoping to secure a winery tenant for one of them, a 9,200-square-foot structure on Seventh Street, continuing to develop the area’s Pinot Quarter theme.

McDonald, who can be reached at 1-503-209-9591, plans to renovate the former Lee’s Roofing and Kizer Sheet Metal buildings. He hopes to lure art studios, retail outlets or restaurants to those spaces.

Betty Lou Carrier, principal in Betty Lou’s, acquired the former Skyline plant in a deal that closed last week.

The plant, previously used to manufacture recreational vehicles, is located at 750 Booth Bend Road. The selling price was not disclosed.

That will triple the company’s production space, according to Carrier’s son, John Sizemore, who serves as vice president of sales. He said the company plans to install equipment greatly expanding its production capacity and nearly double its current workforce of 80 over time.

Betty Lou’s markets an extensive line of specialty snack offerings, including all-organic, all-natural, corn-free, dairy-free, low-fat, low-carb, vegan, wheat-free, kosher and soy free.

The company currently uses an extrusion process that requires ingredients to be broken into small pieces so bars can be cut to consistent size and weight. The new equipment will allow the company to use whole nuts and still produce bars of uniform dimension.

Sizemore said that should boost orders and sales for the 30-year-old company, which caters to people with food allergy or intolerance. He said Betty Lou’s already has begun preliminary work at the site and expects to be fully moved in by early in the new year.

Jody Christensen, executive director of the McMinnville Economic Development, helped facilitate the transaction. She said the company produces great-tasting snacks with a high nutritional value for a health-conscious lifestyle, and that segment has tremendous growth potential.

“Betty Lou’s produces a quality product, cares about its employees and is primed for growth,” she said. “We are fortunate that the stars all lined up. Just as the need for more space became apparent, the perfect building came on the market.”

The company also has been getting assistance from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, working through Tom Fox, business development officer for Yamhill, Marion and Polk counties. “We think the company has a potential to dramatically increase its client base.”

The department has been providing technical assistance “from the bottom up,” Fox said. He said it had also lined up a grant from the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership to fund a lean manufacturing program.

“We are thrilled about the expansion and feel blessed to have been able to stay in McMinnville,” Carrier said.