SOREDI Members Invited to Tour Grants Pass Area Businesses

SOREDI members are invited to attend the next Industry Tour, which will feature Grants Pass area businesses, Rogue Valley Door, Met One Instruments, the Grants Pass Museum of Art, the Rogue Innovation Hub, Hy-Speed Machining and the emerging Southern Oregon Air Academy, located at the Grants Pass Airport. Lunch from Goodness Gracious will be provided. This exclusive members-only event is designed to give participants the opportunity to learn about the diversity of businesses based in this two-county region. While touring these interesting locations, participants often learn about hidden employment opportunities and have the ability to network with other SOREDI members.

The tour begins at 8:10 am with coffee and a light breakfast at Holiday Inn Express Grants Pass.  Crafting great entrances since 1985, Rogue Valley Door will be the first stop on the tour. Rogue Valley Door is now a 350,000 square foot manufacturing facility, guided by the vision of the original owner, John Dunkin. Each door is crafted from some of the finest lumber in the world, kiln-dried, crafted by artists and shipped anywhere. This is a small company with a big heart and an even bigger vision. Next, guests will visit Met One Instruments, makers of ambient air quality particulate monitors, software and solutions. By using modern technology and innovative design, combined with years of experience, Met One Instruments is able to meet the needs of their customers nationally and internationally. The third stop of the day will be the Rogue Innovation Hub. A partnership effort between Rogue Community College and the City of Grants Pass, the Rogue Innovation Hub is a downtown facility that functions as a regional creative maker space and a hub for emerging inventors, with the goal of inspiring hometown cultural and economic opportunity. Across the street, at the Grants Pass Museum of Art, guests will enjoy a lunch catered by Goodness Gracious, surrounded by the current exhibit, Randall David Tipton, Ruth Armatage & Don Gray. After lunch, guests will tour Hy-Speed Machining, a leading manufacturer of close tolerance, high quality machined parts, serving customers in the aerospace, defense, ground-refueling, precision analytical, medical instrumentation and semi-conductor industries worldwide for over thirty years. Southern Oregon Air Academy, located at the Grants Pass Airport, will end the tour with a discussion about the agreement and funding signed by Alaska Air Group and Pacific Aviation Northwest, to provide license training for pilots to fly as instructors and/or charter pilots. Guests will also see the work being done to house the students while in training. The Josephine County Transit District bus will return you to your car at Holiday Inn Express Grants Pass by 3:15 pm.

“Many positive things have come out of the SOREDI Industry Tours,” says Kathy Trautman, Business Development Manager at SOREDI. “One example is the formation of the Business Education Partnership Committee.” Trautman continues, “In addition, internships for students have come about as a result of educators touring local businesses and learning what great careers are available right here in our region. We are committed to providing a stronger workforce pipeline in Southern Oregon. These Industry Tours are just one of many initiatives we take onto help fill that need for regional businesses.”

The tour will take place from 8:00 am to 3:15 pm, Wednesday, March 21. Participants will meet at 8:00 am at Holiday Inn Express Grants Pass, 105 NE Agness Ave, Grants Pass. The cost to SOREDI Members is $45. These tours are members-only events. Our generous co-sponsors, US Bank and Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Oregon, make it possible to include local educators at no cost. Lunch is included.

About SOREDI: SOREDI is a private, membership-based, non-profit organization, governed by a board of directors. Its seven-person staff is charged with local business expansion and new business recruitment efforts, financial assistance to start-up companies through its business loan fund, and management of Enterprise Zones in Jackson and Josephine Counties. The agency was formed as a regional economic development agency in 1987. Learn more at https://soredi.org.