Port of Whitman receives $2 million CERB loan

COLFAX— The Port of Whitman received a $2 million low-interest loan from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to construct a new Hunga Dunga Brewing Company building at the Port’s Pullman Industrial Park in Pullman.

The Port reports that Hunga Dunga Brewing will sign a lease with the Port to operate the production facility and taproom and will finance tenant improvements.

The CERB loan will expand the business’s production capacity in Pullman by designing and constructing a 12,000-square-foot facility, including utility extensions and commercial kitchen space.

The loan is matched by $500,000 in private resources.

Hunga Dunga Brewing is investing $500,000 into the project and expects to create 43 jobs.

“Increased economic vitality is the outcome of a significant collaboration between CERB and local communities,” CERB Chair Michael Echanove said, noting that the state’s economic, cultural, and geographic variety is shown in these projects. “The board is happy to work with each of these communities to establish long-term employment in the private sector,” he said.

“We are thrilled to support Hunga Dunga as they grow their business into Pullman,” President of the Port of Whitman County Commissioners Karl Webber said, noting that providing ready-to-lease properties is just one way that the Port supports business retention, recruitment, and expansion in the county. “We are grateful to CERB for recognizing this opportunity, and we’re excited to welcome another business in the thriving Pullman Industrial Park,” he said.

Hunga Dunga was founded and is based in Moscow. The new Pullman facility will help meet growing consumer demands.

“We have long-standing connections to the Pullman community and are very excited about this opportunity to work with the Port of Whitman,” Owner and Manager of Hunga Dunga Brewing, Graham Lilly, said, noting that the Pullman facility will help them respond to production demands and bring the business into its next phase of development.

Hunga Dunga plans to partner with Paddock Spirits, a Pullman-founded company, to increase Paddock’s production of canned cocktails. The business also plans to start a new Washington state-based distribution company.