Manufacturing
Safe Boats International (Port Orchard)
Forget big. In dealing withmaritime security threats of today and tomorrow, what the military and otherprotective agencies need is small, fast, highly maneuverable yet still lethalwatercraft. Thats what Safe Boats International makes: boats up to 70 feet in length thatcan get to the scene of trouble in a hurry. Such has been the backlog of…
3 Phase Energy Systems (Auburn)
Exhaust emitted byindustrial and commercial air filtration systems is wasted energy. The ExhaustRegenerator by 3 Phase Energy Systems turns that energy from wasted toproductive by converting it to electricity that can be used by the facility.The company says the regenerator can produce a return on investment of twoyears or less. 3 Phase Energy Systems was…
Renewable Energy Composite Solutions LLC (Vancouver)
Left to right: Renewable Energy Composite Solutions ManagingDirector Joe Foggia, Director of Operations Brad Given and Chief FinancialOfficer Dean Anderson. Christensen is one of thebest-known names in the custom yacht building businessa good business to be inwhen times are good. The conventional response to arecession that dried up orders for the sort of multimillion-dollar boats…
Viper Aircraft (Pasco)
Lots of people in the generalaviation business have developed small personal aircraft. Very few of thoseairplane-in-a-garage projects are made of composite materials appropriate for atwo-seat jet that can be used for business travel or for performing aerialacrobatics. The ViperJet LXR, announced last year, boasts a 1,000-mile range atmore than 400 knots, a vertical climb of…
Hydrovolts (Seattle)
Hydropower, the electric lifebloodof the Pacific Northwest, no longer depends on installations the size of GrandCoulee Dam. Hydrovolts makes small turbines that operate in small waterwayslike canals, spillways, rivers and streams as well as in tidal currents. Theturbines dont require expensive new construction to install, generate 1 to 20kilowatts each depending on stream velocity and…
MicroGreen Polymers Inc. (Arlington)
Walking on air: Tom Maloneleads MicroGreen Polymers, which has developed a method of trapping gasmolecules within plastics, making them lighter and less dense. For more than seven years,MicroGreen Polymers has been developing and refining a University ofWashington-developed technology designed to make plastics do more work withless material. Now, its time to put that work tothe…
Bridgeways (Everett)
Bridgeways is a nonprofit agencyserving Snohomish County residents who have mental health challenges, but itsalso an aerospace components manufacturer that has adopted lean practices,achieved AS9100 and ISO 9000 certifications, and moved into a new productionfacility this year. Result: contracts with Boeing and other privatemanufacturers and, as the agency puts it, clients who have found a…
Lighthouse for the Blind (Seattle)
Pat OHara, general manager ofoperations at the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind, oversees a factory thatprovides more than 200 jobs to visually impaired workers. The Seattle Lighthouse For theBlind describes its manufacturing operations as having a double bottom line:revenues and employment for the blind. The numbers suggest Lighthouse,founded in 1918, is succeeding at generating positive…
Grays Harbor Paper (Hoquiam)
In the midst of challengingtrends, both short-term (the economy) and long-term (electronic communicationsand the paperless office), Grays Harbor Paper actually increased 2009 salesby 1.5 percent. One marketing edge: its emphasis as a green producer of officepapers, from heavy use of recycled fiber to reduced energy consumption andrecycling wastewater solids as a fertilizer for local farms….
Kvichak Marine Industries Inc., Seattle
Winner: Manufacturer of the Year (Large Companies)
From left, Kvichak Marines Brian Thomas, Jim Meckley and Keith Whittemore. We know everything we build is a workboat, Kvichak Marine Industries says on its website. The recession notwithstanding, being a versatile builder of aluminum workboats instead of pleasure craft or yachts has been a good place to be lately. Kvichak, with 226 employees, is…
Haskins Steel Co. (Spokane)
Hunker down? The metals supplierHaskins Steel Co. Inc. is reacting to the recession by getting ready for the rebound. Haskins did havea 9 percent workforce reduction in 2009, but doesnt plan more. In themeantime, its been investing in expanding its headquarters as well as spendingon new overhead cranes, plasma gas cutting machines and employee training….
The Bogert Group (Pasco)
Problem: The longer soldiers inthe field take to change the tire on a Humvee or wait for repair assistance,the greater the risk. Solution: a portable, quickly deployable hydraulic jackthat lets soldiers fix whats broken or replace a flat and get moving again.The Bogert Group, which had been making parts and accessories for small planes,developed a…
Cashmere Molding Inc. (Woodinville)
Greg Herlin, president ofCashmere Molding, oversaw a period both of automation and increased hiring. Typical business formula: installautomation to cut production costs. Lay off employees. Cashmere Moldings formula:install automation to cut production costs. Add employees. The 19-year-old plastics moldingcompany, which makes products for diverse industries ranging from medicaldevices to consumer and marine products, figured the…