SOREDI Tours Jackson County Manufacturing

Medford OR – On Thursday, March 16, 2017, SOREDI will host a full bus of local educators and business professionals on a tour of Jackson County Manufacturing companies. The morning will begin with muffins and coffee at 8:00 am at the Rogue Regency Inn, Medford. After some networking time, the bus will leave at 8:20 am. The cost for the tour is $45 and all SOREDI members are invited. These tours are made possible by co-sponsors BlueCross Blue Shield of Oregon and US Bank, with support from Business Oregon. Local educators and elected officials are invited to attend at no charge, compliments of our sponsors. Space is limited, so register early at www.soredi.org/events. Guests on SOREDI Industry Tours are always surprised by the amazing companies that are working away on some of the less traveled roads in our region.

The bus will stop at Pacific Crest Transformers, a leader in the design and construction of custom liquid filled transformers. For more than 90 years, Pacific Crest Transformers has been providing products and service to Oil & Gas, Mining, Utilities, Military and Aerospace clients across the U.S. and beyond – to name just a few. Their pad mount, unit substation, station and specialty transformers are meeting the demands of a fast-paced and every changing marketplace, from right here in Jackson County.

Next, guests will tour Ascentron Electronic Manufacturing. Ascentron is an employee owned company that utilizes LEAN manufacturing principles to pull off “miracles” for their clients in the Aviation, Communication, Medical, Military, Industrial and Instrumentation sectors all over the country. They offer electronic component manufacturing custom to each project, from the design for manufacturability process, to box build solutions, through complete functionality testing, logistical support and delivery to the end customer.

An extended tour of Rogue Disposal and Recycling is next. Visitors may not be aware that Rogue Disposal includes Rogue Compost, the Dry Creek Landfill, a Gas and Oil Facility and a Gas to Energy process. Visitors on this tour will get to the big picture. Rogue Disposal and Recycling manufactures compost that is approved for organic farm and garden use. In addition, Rogue Disposal takes methane from its landfill and turns it into electricity that powers 3000 homes in the Rogue Valley. The Gas and Oil Facility will be the host for a lunch catered by Talon Grill.

The afternoon will conclude with a tour of BIOMed Diagnostics. Founded in 1990, BIOMed Diagnostics manufactures a variety of unique microbiology diagnostic devices for clinical and animal health testing. Their easy to use technology saves time and money, improves workflow and reduces exposure and contamination risks to testing samples and clinicians. BIOMed’s innovative microbiology media is making specimen collection and diagnosis easier and more cost-effective across the country and the world.

“It is always so fascinating to me to see the amazing companies that we have hidden here in Southern Oregon,” says Kathy Trautman, Business Development Manager at SOREDI. Trautman continues, “These industry tours help us with one of our most important functions. We want to foster a closer collaboration between our public sector and our private businesses. We always make sure there are teachers, administrators and principals on the tour, because it’s so important that our young people are aware of solid career opportunities in our region. In addition, we make sure to invite elected officials along so that they can see what our private businesses are doing. These companies that export their products outside the state have a direct effect on the economic health of our region. They import dollars from those sales and pump it into our economy in the form of payroll and taxes.”

About SOREDI: SOREDI is a private non-profit organization, funded by its members and 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 www.soredi.org.

PDF Download:Industry_Tour_March_2017PR