(Photo above: Majesty’s food manufacturing | photo by David Clewett)
Four growing and emerging Redmond businesses were highlighted by Redmond Economic Development (REDI) last Friday during the third annual Made in Redmond Tour.
The tour provided a unique behind the scenes look at Redmond businesses showcasing three local food manufacturing companies and a catering company that significantly contribute to the Redmond economy.
October 2 was National Manufacturing Day which is a “celebration of modern manufacturing meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers,” according to the MFG website. The goal of MFG Day is to “addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t.”
Four businesses were given plaques of recognition by REDI Sr. Manager, Jon Stark for their commitment and contributions to the community. The businesses were recognized at a city council meeting on September 22.
The four businesses featured were Majesty’s, Straw Propeller, Oregon’s Wild Harvest and Tate and Tate Catering. The theme of the tour was loosely based on food industry manufacturing and nutrition, with one food catering company, all located in Redmond’s eastside industrial area.
“The purpose of the event was to have several leaders in the community gather to experience the tour and learn about these local businesses in order to take the information they learn and share it with other members of the community,” Stark said.
Many people were unaware of at least one of the businesses on the tour and very few people knew about the large scale manufacturing and national distribution.
The tour included approximately forty local citizens and made its way by bus to each of the four businesses.
Oregon’s Wild Harvest is an independently owned and operated herb farm that manufactures safe and effective medicinal herbal supplements and products. They manufacture products from an industrial building on NE Hemlock Ave in Redmond.
Majesty’s produces animal nutrition supplies in dosage form for dogs and horses from their First Street plant in Redmond. Since 2011 David and Merre Friend have been finding new and creative ways to administer supplements to companion pets that is easier and less expensive than what is currently on the market.
Straw Propeller is a woman-owned and operated gourmet food manufacturer that was founded in 2011 by Patsy Bartelson. The company distributes products across the U.S. and internationally. They offer 15 flavors of oatmeal and five flavors of muesli including a health kid’s line. All of their 15-20 employees are from Redmond and an internship is offered to Redmond students.
Tate and Tate is a catering company with retail locations at Redmond’s Indian Ave and Bend’s NorthWest Crossing. They recently expanded to the old Fountains Restaurant building on Highway 97 to house Tate and Tate manufacturing. George and Barb Tate offer meal catering for convenient grab and go lunches, meal home delivery and large venue service.
“The tour shows people what is on the east side of the railroad tracks, in the industrial area,” Redmond City Councilor Joseph Centanni said. “Not a lot of people go out there on a daily basis so they don’t know about the businesses.”
