Moving forward
Monday, October 2, 2006 10:21 AM PDT
Larry Meyer | Argus Observer
ONTARIO
The management staff at Western Trailers were searching for a facility that could produce trailer sub-assemblies to support its main production lines in Boise.
The company was also looking for welders.
Western Trailers found both in the western Treasure Valley, with a production plant in Ontario and employees from the Ontario, Payette and Weiser areas who are already exceeding the company's expectations.
Western Trailers officials hosted an open house Friday at the Ontario facility and said the prospects are good that they will continue to the expand locally.
Attending the event were city, county and business leaders, employees and the open house included a ribbon-cutting and a barbecue provided by the company.
The company produces 150 types of trailers and the Ontario plant, which began operation June 19, is building parts for all of them, Jerry Whitehead, president of Western Trailers, said.
“Our market is mainly North America,” Whitehead said. “California is our largest market. We (build) about 90 percent of wood chip trailers,” he said.
Right now, the Ontario welders are working with steel, but will eventually also be welding aluminum, Whitehead said. That will require additional training for those who have not done it, training which will provided by Treasure Valley Community College, he said.
Through talks with TVCC officials, Western Trailer officials first began to look at locating a facility in Malheur County.
The Ontario plant now has 10 employees and will hire two more, possibly as early as this week, who will be trained at the Boise plant for 90 days. About 350 people work at the Boise facility, Whitehead said.
Presently, the company produces about 1,100 trailers a year.
“We need to bring that up a little. We found some good craftsmen over here,” Whitehead about the people working in Ontario.
The new facility has made an immediate impact on the local employment picture.
“They (employees) are all local,” Doug Winslow, Western Trailers Ontario plant manager, said.
Whitehead said so far it has been smooth sailing for his company in Ontario.
“We've not been disappointed,” Whitehead said. “We've found great quality people. It's a pleasure doing business over here.”
Not only has the new plant opened up employment locally, but the amount of work being accomplished at Ontario has created 20 new jobs in Boise, Whitehead said. They are non-welding assembly jobs, he said.
The Ontario workers have been learning the various aspects of their assignments quicker than expected, Whitehead said.
“They are hard to keep up with. That is what we like,” he said.
There is a real potential for growth, he said, depending what the market does and that expansion could come as officials identify more jobs which can be done at the Ontario plant. There will also be more training to be done through TVCC.
