Local company that processes almonds preparing to double production in the North Valley

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A sizeable construction project is getting underway in Madera on an open piece of land. Thursday local leaders came together for the ceremonial ground breaking of a new almond processing facility owned by California Custom Processing.

"This is where all the almonds are. That's why we picked Madera in the middle of the Valley. We get product from Bakersfield to Chico its all comes here for us to process," said Grant Willits, California Custom Processing.

The future facility will allow CCP to meet the growing demand for its nut processing services. Currently the company operates out of this 57,000 square foot building less than five miles away.

The new state of the art processing site will see its operation expand to almost double that size.

"This year alone we'll process 25 million pounds of almonds at our current facility and we will at least double that in the following year here with this facility on line," said Willits.

That means an infusion of jobs into the local economy.

"Right now we have about 40 employees full time. We're looking to at least double that when we bring this facility on line," said Willits.

"When I see these projects coming in here I see employment, I see people working at least the people that want to work," said Max Rodriguez, Madera County Supervisor.

The company hopes to start moving dirt right away on this $10-million dollar project with a completion date set for March 2017.

"Expect to see just what's on that sign there. It's going to be a beautiful new facility state of the art food processing facility designed specifically for almond processing," said Willits.

The company was founded back in 2012 and has quickly become one of the top nut processors in the business.