Published December 2001

Business Briefs

RBC Dain Rauscher to close Everett office
RBC Dain Rauscher will close its Everett office by the end of the year and move its staff of six investment advisers to other offices around Puget Sound.

The move is “based on our need to consolidate our offices in Washington,” said Office Manager Patrick Swesey. “It does not signal a decreased commitment to the investment community in Washington state.”

Most of the company’s advisers work with clients over the phone, Swesey said, although advisers meet with investors in person a couple of times a year. Given that, he said, the only difference most customers will see is that “the address on the statement will be different.”

The company has had an office in Everett for 19 years.

RBC Dain Rauscher will continue to have eight offices statewide, staffed by 130 financial advisers, Swesey said. The Everett-based advisers will move to offices in Seattle, Bellingham or Kirkland.

Dain Rauscher was purchased by Royal Bank of Canada in January, and the new owners changed the company’s name to RBC Dain Rauscher in November. Swesey said the move to close the Everett office wasn’t related to the merger but was the result of market conditions. He wouldn’t elaborate.

In the January deal, Royal Bank of Canada also acquired Dain Rauscher Wessels, Dain Rauscher’s investment banking division. The new owners changed the name of that group to RBC Capital Markets.

— Brian Corliss

EdCC gets grant to develop
database technologies degree
Edmonds Community College recently received a $96,000 grant from the State Board for Community & Technical Colleges to develop an associate of technical arts degree in database technologies.

The program will train students, in a combination of classroom and online courses, for positions as business data specialists, enterprise analysts, database and Web developers or programmers in Java and Oracle.

The grant, and assistance from partners Sun Microsystems and Oracle, supports costs associated with curriculum development, faculty training and software. A 12-member advisory board comprising people in the industry will help the college design the new degree.

Longer-range 777 design progresses
The Boeing Co. says engineers have reached an important milestone in designing two longer-range models of the Everett-assembled 777. Half the design details are complete and have been handed over to Boeing factories and suppliers for the building of parts, assemblies and tools for the new airplanes.

The two new 777s, the 777-200LR and 777-300ER, will extend the range of the 777 airplane family while providing airlines with the ability to increase revenue, officials said.

For example, an airline flying a 777-300 with 365 passengers and 2,000 pounds of cargo from Los Angeles to Tokyo could carry an additional 43,500 pounds of cargo on the new 777-300ER.

Pacific Ave. overpass opens
Pacific Avenue east of Broadway in Everett opened to traffic again Nov. 14 after a yearlong, $15.3 million project to build an overpass that will provide access to Everett Station, the city’s new transportation hub, which is expected to open Jan. 31.

Still to come are overpass turnoffs to Smith Street and Lowe’s Hardware store.

Study: SonoSite heart device effective
A hand-held heart scanner manufactured by Bothell-based SonoSite Inc. can help doctors without extensive training to quickly find hidden heart disease, according to a study presented during the recent 2001 Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in Anaheim, Calif., company officials said. The study on the SonoHeart device was conducted by Dr. Richard Kerber of the University of Iowa.

Also: Company opens French office: SonoSite has established a sales operation in France. The launch of SonoSite France, led by General Manager Roland Bonin, represents a major expansion of SonoSite’s presence in Europe, company officials said. It will be followed by direct sales subsidiaries in Germany and Spain, said Kevin Goodwin, President and CEO.

Intermec teams with IBM
Intermec Technologies Corp. of Everett recently announced a partnership with IBM aimed at using the expertise of both companies to help businesses better manage their product inventories and distribution centers.

IBM and Intermec formalized their longstanding relationship following successful joint projects with companies including Mercedes-Benz, which uses IBM’s Distribution View warehouse management system and services that have Intermec shop-floor data collection devices.

“By joining forces even more closely, IBM and Intermec are providing customers immediate access to both companies’ expertise,” said Intermec Executive Vice President Tom Miller.

Also: Intermec to lay off as many as 75 at Everett facility: Intermec plans to eliminate 7 percent to 10 percent of its work force by the end of the year. That will equate to between 50 and 75 people at its Everett facility. “We don’t have a total figure,” said Lois Fenimore, a spokeswoman at the plant. The job cuts started at the end of October and will be concluded by year’s end, she said. Employees will receive severance packages that are based on time spent with the company. The layoffs are the result of a general slowdown in the economy that was made worse by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Fenimore said.

Work Opportunities
wins Governor’s Award
Work Opportunities, a Lynnwood-based nonprofit organization, recently won the 2001 Governor’s Award by the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment. Work Opportunities was cited for its creative partnership in establishing a program to help persons with developmental disabilities own and operate their own businesses.

Everett company faces fines
for Internet fraud
A Snohomish County judge has ordered an Everett company accused of Internet fraud to pay more than $264,000 in fines, fees and restitution.

Aliendistribution owners and managers David Buckner, Scott Buckner and Eric Scott failed to mount a defense against charges they bilked at least 75 people of about $500 each through fraudulent sales of computers on the Internet auction site eBay.

As a result, they were found guilty by default and ordered to pay more than $204,000 in restitution to the victims and civil penalties, plus another $60,000 to cover the state’s costs of investigating and prosecuting the case.

The state now will try to collect the judgment against the men, who have moved to Detroit, said Paula Sellis, the attorney who prosecuted the case.

Michigan authorities also are investigating the matter, she said.

Krause goes out of business
The parent company of Krause’s Custom Crafted Furniture in Lynnwood has gone out of business.

Southern California-based Krause had been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy since July. A bankruptcy court judge rejected as insufficient two proposals to revive the company, which went under for good in October.

Krause operated 60 furniture showrooms in 13 states. The Lynnwood store was at 3930 196th St. NW.

Frontier Bank opens Tacoma branch
Everett-based Frontier Bank will open its fifth Pierce County branch this month in Tacoma. The new branch, at 1102 Commerce St., will be Frontier’s 38th branch. Greg Rolsma will be the Manager. He is the former area sales leader for KeyBank in Tacoma.

Also: Bank taking part in food drive: Through Dec. 26, Frontier Bank’s Snohomish County offices will have collection bins available in their lobbies for the collection of nonperishable food items for the Volunteers of America Food Bank. The project is a joint effort between United Way, Volunteers of America and Frontier Bank.

Compass Health seeks volunteers
to ‘adopt’ a family this holiday season
Compass Health is looking for individuals, companies and organizations to help make the holidays bright for those in need.

To sign up for the organization’s Adopt-A-Family program, call 425-349-8397 to be matched with a holiday shopping list for a family in need.

Compass Health also will be holding an Adopt-a-Family gift drive at its facility at 111 Everett Mall Way, Building F, in Everett. New, unwrapped gifts of toys, children and adult clothing, household items or food gift certificates will be accepted between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday from Dec. 3 to Dec. 20.

Financial donations to Compass Health can be mailed to P.O. Box 2870, Everett, WA 98203.

BNI sets up Mill Creek networking group
Business Network International has established a Mill Creek networking group, which meets from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Thursdays at Claire’s Pantry, 16430 Ninth Ave. SE, right off 164th Street SE.

For more information, call Jeremy Epp at 425-334-5622.

Working Mother magazine
recognizes Edward Jones
Edward Jones, a financial-services firm with more than a dozen branches in Snohomish County, recently was named among the 100 best companies in the nation for working mothers, according to Working Mother magazine. It is the company’s second time on the list. “We are proud to be ranked once again among the nation’s best employers,” said Mary Basili, an Edward Jones Investment Representative in south Everett.

“We are actively recruiting women to our firm, and we hope this ranking by Working Mother magazine causes even more women to consider a career in the financial-services industry.”

Criteria for inclusion on the list included organizations with programs, practices and policies that best support working mothers and their families. The application process also included an employee survey.

New businesses, locations
n Fast-Fix Jewelry Repairs has opened its 115th outlet at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood in front of the JC Penney store. The store, owned by Nadine Jenkins, offers jewelry and watch repairs while customers shop.

n Kirtley-Cole Associates has opened a special projects division office at 1207 13th St., Suite 1, Snohomish. The new office will provide an array of building services from new construction to remodeling improvements.

n Conger’s Cedar Inn, a bed and breakfast, has opened at 5732 Robe Menzel Road in the Granite Falls area. It offers four guestrooms with different themes and is set in a clearing on a hillside. The business will host occasional marriage retreats for couples as well as the usual overnight stays. For information, call 360-691-3830 or visit CongersCedarInn.com on the Web.

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