Washington Manufacturing Awards 2014: Manufacturer of the Year (Large Firms)

WINNER

Electric Mirror

Everett | electricmirror.com

By putting a TV screen inside a mirror, Electric Mirror has turned the stuff of science fiction into a real-world technology and a business with more than 200 employees. It reported a 51 percent year-over-year sales increase in 2013, fueled by the addition of customers, markets and new products. A big hit in the hospitality sector Electric Mirrors products can be found in the properties of such global brands as Hyatt, Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton the company is now making a concerted push for residential customers, having named a new national sales manager for the segment. That initiative is expected to produce another big year of revenue growth in 2014. Also on the agenda are still more product innovations, such as mirrors that double as message centers and a dimmable lighted mirror that automatically reduces power after an hour so guests can still use it as a sort of night light but hotels can cut power use by more than half over previous models.

SILVER AWARDS

Key Technology

Walla Walla | key.net

Key Technology makes the equipment that sorts, grades, cleans, cuts, trims and does whatever else is necessary to get fruits and vegetables ready for packing and shipping. But the business itself needed some work when financial results disappointed. The company restructured internally, made a European acquisition and signed technology licensing deals. The moves are already starting to show a positive impact on the numbers, and Key Technology plans to build on that with new-product introductions in 2014, integrating more high-tech approaches such as its use of lasers for sorting.

TrojanLitho

Renton | trojanlitho.com

For a packaging company to increase revenue by 31 percent over a recession-wracked five-year period is no small accomplishment. How did TrojanLitho do it? The 177-employee company credits the $12 million it invested in equipment and processes to produce the latest designs in containers that not only protect contents but also double as marketing, promotional and in-store display vehicles. Trojan Litho devotes 1.5 percent of annual revenue to R&D. The workforce is key, too: Average tenure is more than 10 years, and employees have twice hit the one-million-hour mark with no lost-time accidents.