An Oregon company is proposing to refurbish Vale’s long-shuttered mushroom plant to make specialized leather.
Tim Stephenson, chief executive of Vale Textiles, described operations as he sought $1 million from the The Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Board, the board responsible for spurring economic development along the Idaho border.
The board did not take action at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, and hinted at discussing the request in January. Shawna Peterson, the border board executive director, said Vale Textiles submitted the application shortly before Monday’s meeting.
Vale Textiles proposes to tackle one of the community’s significant eyesores on the southeast part of town, which has sat empty for nearly 20 years. The 165,000-square-foot building sits on about 29 acres.
Stephenson told the border board his company is focusing on producing mycelium leather.
Mycelium is the substance in the root structure of mushrooms. Mycelium-based leather is often produced by growing the fungus as a biological tissue or mat on top of a liquid, according to a 2024 study from the University of Colorado.
Mushroom-based artificial leather can be cheaper to produce and can have less of an impact on the environment, according to the university study.
Stephenson told the border board the facility would eventually operate 42 grow rooms to produce the material.
According to Vale Textile’s application for funding, the business would create 72 jobs that pay $30 per hour and then hire nearly 30 more people once the company begins to operate at full capacity.
Stephenson told the board that Vale Textiles is under contract with the current owner of the building until Dec. 31. He said the company intends to have a product on the market by next July.
According to the company’s application, the company’s initial goal is to become a wholesaler of alternative leather products. From there, the application notes, they would expand into a direct-to-consumer operation, selling “handbags and other accessories.”
Still, the company is looking to fill a $4 million funding gap, including seeking $3 million from the state’s economic development agency.
The $1 million in funding from the border board would go toward the cost of equipment and retrofitting the grow rooms at the Vale facility, according to the application.
Vale Textiles is negotiating to buy the facility from the owner, Dr. Amandeep Bhalla, of Redondo Beach, Calif.
Stephenson did not say how much the company would pay for the facility.
Stephenson told the Enterprise in April that he grew up in Adrian. He said he lives there part-time and owns a home in Portland. For the past 30 years, he has worked in the mortgage banking industry, he said.
According to the border board funding application, Vale Textiles was established in 2023 and employs six people.
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