GONZALES — Papé Material Handling will begin a switch of operations from Salinas to Gonzales this month.
The new 25,000-square-foot building will be turned over to the company on June 21, when they are expected to begin installing shelves and bringing in equipment and personnel.
Papé currently operates locally out of Salinas, on John Street just off Highway 101. The company has 29 locations in five states, headquartered in Eugene, Ore. The Monterey County location has 35 employees, with one-third operating out of the office and the remaining two-thirds working off-site providing materials handling equipment, such as forklifts and aerial lifts.
With the company’s rentals operating out of the Gonzales Industrial Park, the location will put Papé in a more centralized setting within the region.
“They’ll have a bigger building, easier access within the building, easier access to their vehicles out in the yard because it’s flat and it’s a roughly square property,” said Matthew Sundt, community development director for the City of Gonzales.
The company’s switch to Gonzales means more employment opportunities and increased tax revenue locally. Sundt said it’s another feather in the city’s cap, since the city also serves as a location for Taylor Farms, Braga Fresh Family Farms and Mann Packing, among others.
Plus, the city still has more space available in its business park.
“We have a lot of available land,” Sundt said. “Multiples of two-acre lots.”
In addition to the new, central location, Sundt said Gonzales will be able to provide an expanded wastewater treatment plant.
“We’re in the midst of creating plans for a one-million gallon addition to our wastewater treatment plant that would be dedicated to industrial users,” he said.
Gonzales currently has 1.3 million gallons of permitted wastewater per day for commercial, residential and industrial flows.
“Papé coming over, it’s a perfect match for the ag park and the city,” Sundt said.
