More businesses moving to San Benito County
Business is booming in Hollister. Two businesses are moving into town, bringing close to 150 new jobs with them.
GCF Frozen Inc is a family business that’s been around for some 40 years.
“We are an ingredient supplier for large food manufacturers,” Tim Chiala, GM of GCF Frozen Inc said. “So we take the raw agricultural product, wash it, usually dice it then we freeze it and ship it off to their manufacturer and it’s usually put on top of your frozen foods, and into your frozen entrees, the soups that you enjoy and the premade meals that you buy in your grocery store.”
The company has outgrown its current processing plant in San Martin. It’s now expanding into San Benito County. Its 82,000 square-foot building should be fully operational by the middle of September. But to be operational, the company needs more workers. Currently, it has has 84 year-round employees and hires 200 during the busy season. At the new facility, they’ll get up to 125 year round positions, with 250 seasonal jobs.
“It brings more jobs to the city,” Chiala said. “It obviously brings in more tax revenue. It’s a great place to be. Strengthen the ag in the area. We source about 85 percent of our stuff locally so this will allow us to buy more ag product just right around us in San Benito and south Santa Clara counties. So we know it’ll be good for the city and good for the farmers in the area.”
The new location on Fairview gets them closer to local farmers, helping them be a bit more sustainable.
“It’s a great place,” Chiala said. “I have access to a lot of different vegetables, from the peppers in the summer to the leafy green products in the winter. It gives me a wide variety of raw products to work with within a 75-mile radius to the plant. It’s good for the environment.”
GCF Frozen is striving for water sustainability. It plans to treat the water used to wash produce, then make it available to area farmers.
Elsewhere, construction is underway at the Fairfield Inn on San Felipe and Gateway. The 77-room hotel should bring in close to 50 jobs. Hollister city leaders hope the new employees will be local.
“We are hoping they already live here so they’ll stay here and spend their money here and buy a home here,” Ray Friend, Hollister City Council member said.
Friend says he knows some businesses have looked at opening up shop in Hollister. One of them is Polaris Industries, known for Indian Motorcycles. Of course, Hollister is home to a big motorcycle rally every year. Bur Friend says Hollister has another advantage to attracting businesses.
“We have some excellent ideas and areas that already have the infrastructure in,” Friend said. “That is 40 percent of the cost of building a new building is that infrastructure, it’s already in place here. We have some excellent access to freeways. 156 cuts right through our business park. There are people that recognize that and are looking at that.”
As for housing, there are developments going up as we speak, so if more businesses move here, transplanted families will have more housing options.
