Eastern Ice completes move to Fall River

FALL RIVER – Eastern Ice Co. Inc., formerly of Newport, was joined by city officials today for the grand opening of its $4.5 million ice-making plant in the Fall River Commerce Park.
In July 2007, the 36-year-old family-operated company announced its plans to move to the business park, pending approval of a tax-increment financing (TIF) agreement with the City of Fall River and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That plan was approved in September; in it, the company commits to creating 13 new full-time, permanent jobs over the next three years.
Construction began last fall and continued through the winter, so the new plant would be ready for the high-demand summer season. The 25,000 facility, described by Eastern Ice as “state-of-the-art,” was designed with future expansion in mind.
Company officials “are particularly pleased to be in Fall River and operating in a new, state-of-the-art facility which will help increase productivity and employment opportunities for residents of Fall River and the surrounding areas,” C. Joseph Rossi and David F. Rossi said in a statement today.
The Rossis “also wanted to thank Mayor Robert Correia and Ken Fiola, from the Fall River Office of Economic Development, for their pro-business attitude, and helping them through the TIF and construction-permitting process.”
Correia, who was to join OED officials on a 3 p.m. tour of the plant, replied by praising the Rossi family and Eastern Ice for having the confidence to invest in the city. “Other companies should look at the reasons why Eastern Ice chose Fall River over other communities,” he said.
“Fall River is open for business,” the mayor added, “and we have all the necessary ingredients – in the form of a quality labor force, affordable land and existing infrastructure – to make company startups, expansions and relocations possible.”
The Fall River Office of Economic Development is a private nonprofit organization established by the city in 1978. For more information about the FROED and the Fall River Commerce Park, visit www.froed.org.
For information about the City of Fall River, visit www.FallRiverMa.org.