Annual luncheon hears 2012 yielded best results in agency history. Last year proved to be a record one for business facilitated by Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) with 26 “done deals” producing some 887 jobs and reflecting the best results in the agency’s 32-year history.
EDCO Executive Director Roger Lee told the organization’s recent annual luncheon that the activity spurred in terms of both new and expanded business in 2012 covered a diversified range of 12 different industries, producing capital investment in the region totaling over $215 million.
The sold-out event at
Pointing to some of the new companies which EDCO helped bring to the area in 2012, Lee said they ran the whole gamut, from operations like firearms accessory specialty manufacturer Colfax Tactical which brought five jobs in relocating from California, to Consumer Cellular which took over the shuttered former T-Mobile call center in Redmond with plans to ramp up to around 650 employees.
Naturally, Central Oregon’s bourgeoning craft brewing industry was well represented, with Lee referencing new entrant Crux Fermentation’s transformation of a former transmission shop in
Worthy Brewing also hit the ground running on the east side of town with the completion of a three-acre campus encompassing a 30,000 square foot building including an expansive 30-barrel production brewery and full-service service restaurant, with a 40-strong workforce.
Traded sector cluster companies – prized for bringing in fresh dollars through selling products and services outside of the region – were also prevalent, with Bend drawing in companies like Ocean Equipment, which specializes in sales, marketing and distribution of innovative products for the marine industry, from Irvine, CA, as well as hi-tech specialists including Open Sky Software from Austin, TX and Systema, which consolidated locations spread between Germany and Corvallis, with the promise of 20 jobs.
In the same category, specialty manufacturer GFP Emergency Services, which provides critical responder support services, switched from Eugene to Prineville bringing 85 employees, while a strategic acquisition by Erickson Aero Tanker saw it branch out to house an aerial firefighting fleet in Madras set to get up to speed at between 35 and 60 workers.
A smattering of smaller companies with promising potential completed the new line-up, including medical training and education exponents Current Conceptions which relocated from Pullman, Washington to Redmond, followed by another Washington migrant, safety equipment innovators Whistles for Life, from Ferndale, as well as natural performance training snack producer Picky Bars which crossed the Willamette Valley from Springfield, and interface printer Quiltsmart which headed out west from Minnesota to Bend.
Lee said: “I think it is very encouraging, and a reason for continuing optimism, that over sixty per cent of the job growth last year came from companies new to the area.
“These businesses were attracted to our region for a variety of reasons, including the ability to attract talent, economic incentives and an environment where entrepreneurship can flourish.”
A healthy slate of expanding companies aided by EDCO were also noted in 2012, including Central Oregon Truck Company – an important local carrier with customers across the country – whose growing 250-plus employee base was retained in the region thanks in part to a coordinated collaborative effort between state and local economic development agencies which saw the company persuaded to build a state-of-the-art new facility off Hwy 97 in Redmond rather than switching gears to a competing relocation site in Nevada.
Again, the craft beer business proved to be among the stand out stories of 2012, including the expansion of 10 Barrel Brewing Company into a larger production facility which helped propel it into the top ten of Oregon’s more than 160 breweries, as well as pushing the projected employee count towards 100.
And from relatively humble beginnings, Boneyard Brewing continues to make huge strides, with a 270 per cent increase in
In the strategically important bioscience sphere – targeted as a desirable low-impact, high remuneration sector well suited to the region – innovation leader Bend Research continued to grow employment towards the 300-level, partly in response to the corresponding growth of the pharmaceutical industry.
The region’s increasing diversification – the need for which was well-heeded after the brutal recessionary impact of the previous decade’s over-reliance on construction and real estate – was also reflected in a slew of different business types experiencing healthy growth in 2012.
In the musical instrument genre, Two Old Hippies/Breedlove Guitars made some noise in hitting 55 employees after its move to a new base off American Lane in Bend, while Sisters consultants Energyneering Solutions Inc. widened its renewable energy reach, and general aviation manufacturer Epic Aircraft overcame market headwinds with plans to ramp up its employee numbers after acquiring the former Cessna plant in Bend.
Lee remarked that Facebook’s “most advanced data center campus in the world” in Prineville was ramping up to 82 employees, while hi-tech specialty cable wire harness assembly manufacturer LMH Technologies was expanding operations in Redmond.
Other notable companies with which EDCO had involvement and which reported growth in 2012 included:
Navis (Reservation Sales Specialists)
Key Technologies (Food Processing & Manufacturing Equipment)
Northwest Laundry Services (Industrial Cleaning) Prineville;
SisTech (Transportation Equipment);
Pape Kenworth (Heavy Machinery)
Smith Bros. Push Rods (Automotive Parts Manufacture)
Solstice Brewing (Prineville’s first Craft Brewing operation);
Validation Resources (Pharmaceuticals Development) Bend;
Zuri Group (Communication Technology for non-profit organizations) Bend.
Strategic Initiatives identified by EDCO and pushed forward in 2012 also included a coordinated effort to pitch for future potential unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) business, a part in fast-tracking substantially increased power capacity for the region (see sidebar story), a large lot industrial pilot program to create shovel ready sites for sizeable companies, and a continued effort to increase commercial air service, most recently through the initiative bidding to incentify American Airlines to resurrect roundtrip service to LAX.
Current EDCO Executive Committee President and Pacific Power Business Manager Angela Jacobson Price added: “I am in somewhat of a unique position in working with numerous economic development agencies, but I would hold EDCO up as a model in a number of ways including taking a regional approach and displaying advocacy in action.
“They also galvanize critical partners where needed in a collaborative way and are an effective catalyst for meaningful economic development dialog.
“Comprehensive efforts include a long-term strategic plan to guide actions over a number of different industry sectors, and they have proven effective in being proactive and opportunistic, as illustrated by recent successes.”
Regional representatives who addressed the luncheon included Jon Stark, manager of Redmond Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) who cited 2012 as “one of the most productive years in Redmond’s history”.
Notable successes included the saving of hundreds of jobs when REDI worked directly with a team of economic development organizations including EDCO, the Governor’s Office and Business Oregon to pave the way for Oregon-based Consumer Cellular to take over a 77,000 square foot call center vacated by T-Mobile. Stark spearheaded a detailed proposal to target compatible replacement users for the building within days of the closure news, and after several tours were coordinated the void was filled within short order.
He hailed the retention and expansion of Central Oregon Truck Company after working with the Governor’s Central Oregon Regional Solutions Team, ODOT, the City of
Nate LiaBraaten, EDCO business development manager for the
EDCO is a private non-profit corporation dedicated to building a vibrant and thriving regional economy by attracting new investment and traded-sector jobs (manufacturing, professional, headquarters and high technology businesses) through marketing, recruitment and substantive assistance to existing companies. For more information call 541- 388-3236 or www.edcoinfo.com.
