Pacific Cheese to expand operation, staff

An acquisition by Pacific Cheese Co. last summer is bringing jobs to Reno this spring.

The cheese supplier headquartered in Hayward, Calif., said last week it will add 16 jobs at its manufacturing plant at 8950 Double Diamond Parkway.

Pacific Cheese said the additional jobs come as it consolidates a cheese processing operation that formerly operated at a Los Angeles-area plant.

Privately held Pacific Cheese acquired Chateaux Cheese Corp. of Vernon, Calif., last August. At the time of the merger, Chateaux was manufacturing about 17 million pounds of pasteurized processed American cheese a year.

In contrast, Pacific Cheese historically has specialized in premium-quality natural cheeses. The acquisition of Chateaux, executives said, created a broad-line cheese supplier.

The jobs to be added in Reno pay average wages of $24.17, Pacific Cheese said in an application to the Nevada Commission on Economic Development for incentives.

Among the jobs are vice president of processing, director of quality assurance, production manager and production associates.

The new jobs will bring employment at the Reno facility to 45. Pacific Cheese opened its northern Nevada operations in 2004.

The company will spend about $780,000 in construction to modify the manufacturing plant.

Dale Tate, chief financial officer of Pacific Cheese, said Nevada's pro-business tax environment and its proximity both to West Coast markets as well as the company's headquarters in the Bay Area were key elements in its decision.

The Commission on Economic Development estimated the economic impact of the expansion will be $132.7 million over 10 years. It approved a package of tax incentives for the project.

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and the economic development department of NV Energy provided assistance to the company's expansion plans.

Also playing a role were Doug Browne of Devcon Construction; the City of Reno, Washoe County and the Washoe County School District, EDAWN said in a press release.