Shelby will seek state grant for company planning $11 million project

Pride Pak plans new facility in Medina Business Park

SHELBY – A Canadian company has decided against using a vacant manufacturing site in Medina and instead is planning a new facility for a vegetable processing, packaging and distribution facility.

Pride Pak Canada Ltd. wants to build a 66,000- to 80,000-square-foot facility in the Medina Business Park on Maple Ridge Road. That building, plus equipment, would be an $11 million investment, said Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The company would like to break ground this fall on the project. It is working to pick a contractor.

The Town of Shelby voted on Tuesday evening to seek a $734,000 grant through the state Office of Community Renewal to assist Pride Pak with the project. The Ridgeway Town Board had sought the grant for Pride Pak but the application is being reintroduced because of the change in location for the project.

The company would have 40 employees in its first year, another 40 the second year and would reach about 200 at full capacity, Barone said.

Pride Pak was interested in the former BernzOmatic property. That site in Medina was vacated last year by Worthington Cylinders. The site is a 180,000-square-foot facility at 1 BernzOmatic Drive.

Pride Pak decided instead for a new building. The company may expand beyond the new building in the future, Barone said.

The Orleans EDA previously approved a property tax discount for Pride Pak if it bought and used the BernzOmatic site. In addition to a discount on property taxes, Pride Pak was approved for a sales tax exemption for equipment and building materials, an estimated savings of $280,000.

In addition to the jobs and boost in tax base, Pride Pak would benefit the local economy by buying some local produce, and packaging it to be distributed to grocery stores. The company wants to expand its operations from Canada and better serve a large northeastern US grocery chain, Orleans EDA officials said.

Pride Pak also has been approved for 1 megawatt of hydropower, which is deeply discounted electricity from the New York Power Authority.