Patience, price brought AES to its new Yerington location

The deal that's bringing new life to a long-shuttered factory near Yerington required patience as it took nearly a year to come together.

AES Industries is gearing up to begin hiring and start production at a 63,000-square-foot plant at Wabuska, just north of Yerington.

Based at Tallassee, Ala., AES makes frames and supports for roof-mounted heating and air-conditioning systems. The company is expected to employ 50 to 75 people in northern Nevada, and economic officials estimate the facility's impact on the region at about $10 million a year.

The plant, previously the home of plastics manufacturer Poly One, has been idle since mid-2003.

The plant's location in a small community 68 miles southeast of Reno initially meant that few potential buyers were interested in looking at it, said Aiman Noursoultanova, a vice president at CB Richard Ellis who represented the former owner.

But as prices for industrial land rose elsewhere in northern Nevada, the 48 acres of land and manufacturing facilities looked increasingly attractive. They sold for $1.35 million.

"The market came to it," Noursoultanova said. "Those considerations with that price are impossible to find in Reno."

But finding the right property was just the start, said Carole Brill of Miller Industrial Properties, which represented AES. The company moved slowly as its executives carefully reviewed the community, the property and the transaction.

"Every single aspect of real estate was covered, from water to environmental considerations," Brill said. "I got wealthy in knowledge."

At the Northern Nevada Development Authority, meanwhile, Business Development Manager Larie Trippet was gathering reams of information everything from the demographics of the Mason Valley to wage data to help AES make its decision.

At the Mason Valley Chamber of Commerce, President Chuck Worley and other chamber members were providing introductions to other businesses and nonprofits in the area that could answer questions by AES executives.

"The company uses good skilled workers," said Worley. "It's a good clean industry for us."

Even though the deal took nearly a year to come together, Trippet said work by Yerington City Manager Dan Newell and Brad Woodring, an economic development executive with Sierra Pacific Power, helped streamline the process.