Lamb Weston boosts research with $3.5 million investment in Richland

Frozen potato giant Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LW) is investing $3.5 million at its Richland campus to support research.

Construction of the new potato storage building connected to the research center should be finished this fall, the Eagle, Idaho-based company said.

Fisher Construction Group is the contractor for the project at 1933 Hagen Road.

Lamb Weston’s Richland campus includes a production line in addition to research activities.

In 2017, Lamb Weston dedicated a $200 million expansion of the Richland processing line.

The expansion doubled the Richland plant’s ability to convert raw potatoes into frozen products, namely french fries, to 2 million pounds per day, or 600 million pounds per year.

Lamb Weston operates production and other facilities throughout the Mid-Columbia and is one of the region’s leading private employers.

Last week, it dedicated a similar $250 million expansion in Hermiston that added 250 jobs and boosted production to nearly 750 million pounds annually.