(RDD Enterprises in Redmond serves the experimental aircraft community | Photo courtesy of RDD Enterprises)
“It’s interesting and a lot of fun to see diverse industries and companies — with the fascinating people who run them — choosing Central Oregon to make their home,” said Steve Curley, director of Redmond Economic Development Inc. (REDI).
“Each community has a different culture, its own flavor, and I would characterize Redmond’s as ‘get it done,’” he continued. “For example, people in the Community Development Department here are always very willing to roll up their sleeves and solve any issues that arise. In Redmond, we try to be as flexible as possible with projects that will benefit the community.”
Curley added that “it’s a huge benefit to have EDCO lead a company to the right place, help them with obstacles and challenges (such as facilitating the permit process), and connect with local, state, and federal resources.”
As he explained, “my focus is on the traded sector: industries that sell their goods and services to customers outside the region where they are located. In Redmond, we have 700 acres purposed for large-lot industrial properties, and over time have developed a reputation as an advanced manufacturing community.”
Examples include:
- BASX, Inc., a manufacturer of precision engineered HVAC products for data center and cleanroom industries, is (with 600 employees) the largest traded sector manufacturer in Central Oregon.
- Composite Approach specializes in composite-related projects — “which is an art as much as a science,” in Curley’s words — from jogging strollers to aircraft, unmanned marine vehicles, and RVs.
- RDD Enterprises is an aviation research, design and development group serving the experimental aircraft community.
- Lancair International, which specializes in “ultimate performance aircraft,” was an early aviation company here, said Curley, serving as “the first stake in the ground that sprung other aviation and composite businesses.”
- Oregon’s Wild Harvest, which grows and manufactures organic herbal supplements, relocated from Sandy, Oregon to Redmond.
- Aircraft Rubber Manufacturing makes steel-pressure bladder tanks (steel-pressure vessels fitted with an internal bladder that stores foam concentrate) for the Department of Defense. (For example, Curley said, “If a bullet goes through a piece of heavy equipment such as a tank, the bladder keeps it from exploding.”
- Seneca Holdings is the world’s oldest and largest manufacturer of made-to-order traffic and specialty doors (as seen in grocery stores and commercial kitchens) with a national client base.
- Nosler, which previously purchased 60 acres near the Redmond Municipal Airport, plans to build a new 85,000-square-foot facility for its ammunition and high-end rifle operations “designed for hunting enthusiasts,” in Curley’s words.
Looking to the future, Curley sees potential for beginning to grow the area’s high-tech sector — particularly with semi-conductor-related supply chain companies — through federal and state funding designed to spur innovation and create jobs outside existing tech centers like San Francisco and Seattle. “It could be the tip of the spear,” he predicted.
