day three
The J. R. Simplot Company invented the frozen french fry and sold the first frozen fry to McDonald’ s in the 1960s. Simplot remains one of the top three suppliers to McDonald’ s and a top supplier to other fast food brands and restaurants. Simplot employs 255 people at its Moses Lake potato processing plant that produces frozen potato products: french fries and hashbrowns. The company has 1,355 workers in Washington state and 13,000 employees worldwide. It owns two potato processing plants in Washington and is currently constructing a third plant in Moses Lake that will have a 14-story automated high-bay freezer. Simplot contracts with Washington potato growers to provide potatoes for processing. The company was founded by J. R. Simplot in 1929 and it remains privately held and family owned.