INDUSTRIAL BBQ

The Industrial Barbecue honors those major manufacturers and industries that have located in, or expanded their operations within San Joaquin County. Each of these companies represent over $1 million in plant and equipment investment, millions of square feet of space occupied, and together total thousands of new employees in our community.

Criteria:
Those INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES eligible for awards must be located in an industrial zone, and be in operation by July 1, 2024. They must also meet or exceed two of the following requirements: 20 new jobs to San Joaquin County, 20,000 square feet of new or expanded roofed facility or $1 million capital investment.

Goodwill Industries of San Joaquin Valley, Inc, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit that provides employment and training opportunities to assist individuals with barriers to employment to become self-sufficient, working members of our community. Goodwill’s primary funding source is the resale and recycling of donated items. Goodwill of San Joaquin Valley serves 13 counties in the Central San Joaquin Valley. After an exhaustive three (3) year search up and down the highway 99 corridor, Goodwill landed on the Arch Airport corridor which is supporting unprecedented growth for warehouse and distribution facilities. We are honoring Goodwill tonight for the opening of their new 90,000 square foot facility that houses a new Outlet store, and distribution center. This facility hired 20 new employees and was a large investment for Goodwill in or community.

We are excited to be honoring Heirloom Carbon Technologies tonight for opening America’s first commercial Direct Air Capture facility right here in Tracy. Prior to this facility Heirloom was using limestone to capture CO2 from the air in a petri dish. This new facility can capture up to 1,000 tons of CO2 per year, which will be sent for centuries-long storage in concrete to fulfill commercial removal purchases. This facility is fully powered by renewable energy and is being operated consistent with their principles for the responsible deployment of carbon removal – which include commitments that no carbon dioxide removed will be used for enhanced oil recovery and community feedback is baked into facility operations.

Kevin’s Natural Foods is a high-growth, nutritious meal company that makes chef-inspired sous-vide meals, sides, and sauces. Using whole foods and simple ingredients, it meets the needs of today’s busy consumers by helping them eat healthier food within minutes, without sacrificing on bold flavors. Kevin’s has enjoyed double-digit growth since it was founded in 2019 and is now available across 17,000+ retail locations, from grocery stores and supermarkets, through to digital commerce.

Kevin’s Natural Foods picked San Joaquin County because of it’s established Industrial space and good labor pool. In 2019 they moved into a 50,000 square foot facility on Mariposa Rd. In 2021 they expanded their operations adding an additional 50,000 square foot warehouse facility on Pock Lane. In 2022 they added a 48,000 square foot facility on Petersen Rd. In 2024 they added an additional 160,000 square foot facility on Imperial Way. Since 2019 they’ve added 100 employees per year, today they have more than 500 employees in San Joaquin County.

Macy’s recently opened a new 272,000 square foot distribution center in Lathrop, fulfilling its first home delivery on June 5 of this year. The Lathrop fulfillment center will support Macy’s and Bloomingdales’ furniture, mattress and rug delivery, and returns in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California region. This facility employs 60 people. The opening of the Lathrop fulfillment center is a key milestone in their new strategy “A Bold New Chapter”. Over the next 3 years they plan to optimize their supply chain asset portfolio, streamline fulfillment, improve inventory planning and allocation, and deliver a scalable technology platform.

Premier Finishing, founded in 1996, has consistently remained at the forefront of Powder Coating, Liquid Coating, EMI-RFI Shielding, Production Silk-screening, Pad-printing, and Light Mechanical Assembly. With a strong focus on serving industrial applications, Premier counts Tesla Motors among its largest clients. The company leverages innovative systems design and inventive applications engineering to deliver high-end finished products.

In the past year, Premier Finishing expanded its production capabilities by incorporating Flocking for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. Flocking, known for its velvet-like texture, is used in high-end consoles and glove boxes. Initially, the process was highly labor-intensive, requiring 30 employees working two shifts for 20 hours a day. After about nine months, Premier invested over $1,000,000 in an automated system, reducing the workforce but still maintaining 20 employees to meet the daily production requirement of over 1,000 center consoles per shift. This project generates an annual revenue of over $2,000,000.

SIMWON America Corporation specializes in producing innovative automotive body parts. The company was established in Lathrop, CA in 2016 and has been growing ever since. SIMWON aspires to bring its high-quality technology from MS-Global Korea by expanding operations in San Joaquin County to meet customer needs and is a proud Tier 1 supplier to Tesla, Inc.

We honored them in 2018 for their first expansion. And tonight we are honoring them for their expansion over the past 2 years. In 2022 they expanded to a third building in Lathrop for their warehouse operation to occupy 89,838 square feet and hiring 15 new people. In 2024 they installed a second press line and are hiring more people. With their expansion into 3 buildings their total square footage in Lathrop is 475,383 square feet and they employ almost 400 people.

Since 1996 Vaz Brothers Warehousing and Repacking has provided storage and packaging services for a handful of the largest winemakers in the country. Vaz Brothers stores wine for some of the largest winemakers in the nation in the temperature-controlled warehouse, as well as uses multiple packing lines, such as glass-to-case packaging, to prepare their clients’ finished products for distribution. We are honoring Vaz tonight for the completion of their new 400,320 square foot warehouse. To staff this new warehouse they have hired 25 new employees bringing them up to a total of 80 employees.