As a solution to increasing almond crops, Blue Diamond Growers, an almond processing and marketing company, purchased a 132,000-sq.-ft. cold storage building, which was part of the former Hershey plant in Oakdale, Calif. The cold storage building adjoins with Sconza Candy Co.’s purchased portion of the plant. About 19 miles east of Salida, Calif., the cold storage unit will handle overflow from Blue Diamond’s Salida facility. The deal closed escrow on Nov. 21, 2008 and began operating in mid-December. Blue Diamond staffed the facility with three to five employees from its Salida plant.