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              FRESNO   COUNTY
"The next four or five years
will see the greatest industrial growth that the county
has ever seen . . ." said
Leon Peters, president of
Valley Foundry and Machine
Works.
last few years Fresno County has been
the richest agricultural county in the
nation. You may also know that
Fresno also has oil and cotton, raisins
and wine—but what of its future as an
industrial center?
Here's the way one Fresno industrialist looks at it:
"I am very optimistic about the
future growth of this area," said Leon
Peters, president of the Valley Foundry and Machine Works, Inc.
"The next four or five years will
see the greatest industrial growth that
the county has ever seen. In fact, the
vast industrial potential here is just
beginning to be realized by the people."
Mr. Peters paused for a minute and
looked out of his window onto the
city and valley beyond. "Around here
you've got room to expand . . .
grow."
The ID reporter asked about labor
efficiency. With a twinkle in his eye,
Mr. Peters said, "You know, we've had
union affiliations around here for
years, but I can recall only one brief
strike. Off hand, I can't recall what
the reason was, but it was settled pretty
quickly. Around here we can talk
things over if we have a problem."
The friendly, energetic spirit typified by this Fresno County businessman seems to be a way of life—of
business—here.
The great western United States is
still in early industrial maturity. Men
whose fathers and grandfathers fought
their way overland to settle and build
a new way of life are today looking
forward to a brighter future with
more enthusiasm than ever.
Explosive growth of the economy
and markets of the western United
States has generated a new era of
industrial expansion on the "other"
side of the Rockies. Lying right in
the middle of this area is Fresno
County, called "America's Newest Industrial Discovery" and boasting almost every factor which makes for the
ideal location for your new manufacturing facility.
Pioneer Roots
About 116 years ago John C. Fremont, famed western explorer and his
scout, Kit Carson, journeyed southward from what is now the San Francisco Bay area across a long, wide
valley. He saw the southwestern part
of the valley as an empty desert,
spotted with alkali and boasting only
sagebrush for vegetation. Making a
brief side trip eastward he encountered
the eastern mountain region, a wilderness of breathtaking peaks, tall, majestic waterfalls and limitless carpets of
wildflowers.
This region comprises what is today
Fresno   County,   rapidly   approaching
its goal of being the third largest
metropolitan area in the state of California.
During the summer of 1957 the
plant manager of the newly opened
Pet-Ritz plant said of Fresno County,
"An ideal climate, beautiful scenery,
wonderful people . . . good schools,
splendid recreational facilities!"
A lot has happened to the Valley
during the last hundred years to generate such praise. The story of Fresno
County and its people form a background made up of high spirit, hard
work and an abiding faith in the future of the west.
The area we ask you to consider
here is located approximately halfway between San Francisco and Los
Angeles. It is almost at the center of the vast San Joaquin Valley.
Its citizens proudly point out that this
equidistant factor has kept them relatively independent of both huge metropolitan areas and encouraged them to
develop self-reliance and build a third
economic center linking the state together. As one businessman told this
reporter, "We don't feel that we have
to trade on either Los Angeles or the
Bay Area to prove our value. We can
offer all the advantages of Southern
California living with very few of the
disadvantages."
The Fresno County Economy
For many years Fresno has led all
the counties in the Nation in value of
farm production. Despite the recent
increased industrialization, agriculture
and industries dependent upon it
dominate the economy. Grapes and
cotton are by far the most important
farm products, together accounting for
over 40 percent of all value of output.
The topography: hills and upland valley in the east, level fertile valley floor
in the central and west central portions, and low hills in the west provide such a variety of soils and climate that wide diversification has been
attained. Tabulated on the accompanying chart is the pattern of development in recent years. Important
crops not listed separately with 1958
farm valuations, are barley, $23.8 million; alfalfa, $18.1 million; melons,
$10.7 million; peaches, $11.9 million;
figs, $4.3 million, and oranges, $4.2
million.
Minerals and Mining
Fresno County's leading mineral
products are petroleum, natural gas,
and natural gasoline. During 1956 the
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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
September, 1959
FRESNO   COUNTY
county was the fourth largest oil producer in the State with the main production coming from the Coalinga and
Kettleman Hills fields. More than 2,500
wells are producing, and drilling of
new wells is proceeding at a normal
rate.
During 1956, $123.5 million worth
of minerals were produced in the
county. Petroleum accounted for
$104.4 million of this, but large quantities of sand and gravel and miscellaneous stone were also mined. Brick
and hollow tile are produced from clay
at Fresno and a number of other
minerals were mined during the year.
During 1957 Fresno County was an
important producer of chromite. There
are known deposits of copper,
diatomite, limestone, arsenic, bismuth,
tin, asbestos, bentonite, graphite, and
volcanic ash in the county. At Hoffman Meadow, in the northern part of
the county, two peat bogs have been
found which contain uranium.
Manufacturing
This report is concerned primarily
with the factors which you need to
know in order to evaluate Fresno
County for your new west coast plant
site. Many of these factors are related
to the county's agricultural products
and industries which process them.
Manufacturing of many types has
gained considerable momentum during the past few years. For instance,
between the years of 1947 and 1954
the Census of Manufacturers showed
a gain of 131% in manufacturing payrolls leaping from $21.9 million to
$50.7 million. Actual value added by
manufacture jumped 105% from $57.2
million to $117.1 million. Much of this
growth is related to expanding markets and the unusually good geographical advantages of the county.
A number of firms formerly maintaining warehouse facilities have expanded
their Fresno County operations to include manufacturing. During 1947,
for example, 12 new industries with a
capital investment of $5.6 million were
established in Fresno County. During
the same period, 86 firms expanded
existing facilities adding capital investments amounting to $5.9 million.
During the first quarter of 1959
four major new plants came into
Fresno County. The largest of these
was the Dow plant mentioned earlier.
Actual location of the plant is the
Fresno Industrial Sites Foundation industrial park. The plant will have
70,000 square feet of floor space and
AGRICULTURAL CROP VALUE
IN FRESNO COUNTY
$400 mil
$300 mil
$200 mil
$100 mil
FROM 1950 TO 1958 FRESNO COl
RANKED FIRST IN THE NATION IN THE
TOTAL VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUC
"48
•49
'50
'51
'52
'53
'54
'55
'56
'57
'58
Product group
Grapes 	
Other fruits and nuts	
Cotton   	
Other field crops	
Truck crops 	
All other 	
Total        $165,446
Value of production (000)
1947
1953
1958
$ 39,777
$ 56,573
$ 93,813
10,242
23,221
39,390
43,296
84,667
84,562
31,456
67,209
65,923
12,065
16,819
18,384
28,601
65,037
68,926
$313,522
$370,998
will occupy initially four acres, with
twenty additional acres reserved for
future expansion.
Another significant new facility acquired by the county during the first
quarter of this year was the General
Cable Corporation's $500,000 manufacturing warehouses and offices on a
15-acre site in Sanger. The plant will
employ initially 100 people and manufacture electrical wire and cable.
During the first four months of
1959, new plants and expansions in
the county created 221 new jobs with
about $2.5 million in investments
added.
The major industry groups in the
county are canning and packing
firms which account for about half of
total employment. Principal products
in these operations are wines and
brandies, raisins, packed meat, poultry,
dairy    products,    olives,    and    many
canned, fresh and frozen fruits and
vegetables.
Ranking second in manufacturing
employment is the transportation
equipment industry.
Assuming more and more importance are lumber and wood products.
As new tracts are opened up, more opportunity is available in expanded
production. Related to raw lumber
production is the production of a large
amount of boxes, pallets, barrels,
cabinets, doors and other milled products.
A number of other industries are
represented including machinery,
printing and publishing, petroleum,
and chemicals including Valley Nitrogen's giant new $9,000,000 plant at
Helm producing anhydrous ammonia.
For a detailed breakdown of employment by industry groups please, refer
to the chart which appears on page 22.
September, 1959
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
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