Renewed activity is returning to the former Walla Walla Gardener’s Association building at 205 N. 11th Ave. across from Stubblefield Co.
For decades, the 51,000-square-foot building housed this local agricultural operation, but as of May, it’s on track to become the second extrusion plant for California-based Valencia Pipe Co.
VPC makes ABS pipe for drain, waste and vent applications used in plumbing and irrigation for homebuilders and consumers and will begin the process of creating extrusion lines. The Walla Walla site was selected for its proximity to customers in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Extrusion is a manufacturing process in which materials of either plastic or metal are melted down and formed into pipe or tubing.
VPC also makes stainless steel pipe, fittings and connectors for gas appliances and sells to retailers and irrigation and plumbing wholesalers.
CEO Andrew Dervin said in an email that there was “no better time than the present to expand manufacturing capacity as home builders attempt to catch up with new home demand.”
VPC will now start the process of cleaning up and remodeling the building to format it for the creation of their piping products.
Dennis Gisi, a real estate agent with John L. Scott Real Estate — covering the Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater area — assisted on the sale of the building to Valencia Pipe.
He said part of the reason VPC picked Walla Walla was the location and the access to the railroad lines that making shipping its products easier.
“This location was right for their kind of service,” Gisi said. “This connects them to their clients in the Pacific Northwest and cuts down their transportation costs and gets them closer to their expansion into Canada.”
Gisi commented on how impressed he was with the way the business community and government officials came together to make the purchase of the building simple and inviting for VPC to choose Walla Walla as its expansion location.
“We got positive support from the Port of Walla Walla and other government agencies,” Gisi said. “Everybody was on board to make it happen.”
In fact, it was one of the easiest projects getting approved that he has ever worked on in his 20-plus years selling real estate, he said. And it was one of the smoother transactions he’s seen.
The property had been listed since May 2020, and VPC reached out in January this year to explore the opportunity to buy the property.
VPC hopes to be manufacturing in the next 60 to 90 days according to Gisi, and the expansion into Walla Walla will generate 25 to 50 new jobs.
