Published March 2003

Business Briefs

QFC plans to open Stanwood store
Quality Food Centers Inc. plans to open a roughly 50,000-square-foot grocery store in Stanwood by Nov. 1, based on a plan filed at City Hall by QFC’s developer, Marc Douglas Properties of Bellevue.

The grocery store, to be located between La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant and Highway 532, will anchor a mini-mall with an additional 42,000 square feet of retail space.

Stanwood Community Development Director Stephanie Cleveland noted that some of the project’s details might have changed since the plan was filed.

The plan also calls for giving the new shopping center access to Highway 532 by extending 92nd Avenue NW to the highway and moving the traffic signal from 88th Avenue NW to the new intersection at 92nd Avenue NW.

But recent opposition to the signal change voiced by East Stanwood merchants has city government seeking more public input on the Department of Transportation’s plan to relocate the light, which state officials say clogs traffic and causes too many accidents.

The developer would pay for the new intersection and stoplight, said state DOT engineer Tim Smith.

HCI holds workshop
for construction industry
HCI Steel Building Systems Inc. of Arlington recently held a three-day workshop for pre-engineered-building contractors from Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. Session topics included “Taking the Peaks and Valleys out of Your Business Cycle,” “Engineering Considerations for Cranes and Mezzanines” and “Computer Estimating.”

Builders attending the event Jan. 24 through 26 also toured HCI’s new computerized beam line, which is capable of producing clear-span buildings up to 600 feet wide.

New Safeway opens at Frontier Village
A new 65,000-square-foot Safeway store opened in Lake Stevens’ Frontier Village in February, one of several changes planned for the shopping center in coming months, according to Pan Pacific Retail Properties, owner of the retail hub.

With the new store open, the space formerly occupied by Safeway will be renovated soon into a G.I. Joe’s outlet. And Pan Pacific wants to finish cosmetic improvements to the property and eventually add more space for small retailers.

Richard Schoebel, Pan Pacific’s director of property management for Washington state, said the plans are moving forward now that the company has completed its acquisition of the shopping center’s former owner, Center Trust Inc.

Pan Pacific is getting ready to apply for permits to add 9,000 square feet of retail space to the center for two additional buildings along Highway 9.

Each of the buildings will be designed to host two or three small shops. Because Pan Pacific hasn’t started the permitting process yet, Schoebel declined to guess when the new space would be built.

But he said company officials are eager about the project, which will bring the shopping center’s total space to more than 200,000 square feet.

Snohomish to study its workers’ salaries
The city of Snohomish has begun advertising for a company to do a salary and compensation study for city jobs as part of a plan to develop a program that enables it to competitively recruit and retain employees.

The study will include an audit of all jobs and developing a salary range for each position. The work is expected to be complete by late June.

Stevens Hospital installs new cardiac unit
Stevens Hospital of Edmonds has a new cardiac catherization unit that enables doctors to treat heart-related emergencies faster than ever.

Greg Macke, the interim medical services administrator who oversees the Lynnwood and Edmonds paramedics, explained the procedure after someone has a heart attack and 911 is called:

As soon as medics hook up a heart-monitoring system, the information goes through a system similar to an e-mail right to the emergency room. The large-screen computer in the ER flashes a red light, getting the attention of doctors and nurses, who notify the on-call cardiologist. It could all happen before the patient has even started to be transported to the hospital, Macke said.

Quinton Cardiology Systems
posts fourth-quarter profit
Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. ended 2002 with its first profitable quarter in recent years, reducing its overall net loss for the year to less than $1.4 million.

That compares to a net loss of nearly $8 million the previous year.

The Bothell-based maker of heart monitoring and stress test systems said that it recorded a net profit of $595,000, or five cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2002. That compares to a loss of $4.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Revenues for the quarter totaled $13.2 million, a 26-percent increase over the same period in the prior year.

John Hinson, Quinton’s president, said stress test systems continued to sell well in the fourth quarter, offsetting some softening sales of other products.

Edmonds Crossing gets federal boost
A proposed transportation center in Edmonds has received $3.5 million in federal funding.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., helped secure the money for the Edmonds Crossing project, according to a recent news release from the city of Edmonds.

The proposed transportation center would be built in the lower yard of the Edmonds Unocal tank farm. In August, that location was unofficially removed from the Brightwater sewer plant list by King County Executive Ron Sims.

The city hopes the center will improve opportunities for connecting various forms of transportation, including rail, ferry, bus, bicycle, walking and ride sharing.

If funding is approved next fall as part of a regional transportation package, construction of the Edmonds Crossing project could begin as early as 2006 and be completed in 2009.

Ceptyr secures cancer drugs
Ceptyr Inc. of Bothell said it has secured exclusive rights to develop and commercialize derivatives of existing cancer drugs that were discovered by two California hospitals.

Ceptyr’s agreement with California Pacific Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center, both in San Francisco, gives the hospitals an unspecified payment immediately and makes them eligible for future milestone payments and royalties if the derivatives are developed into new drugs.

Bothell call center lays off 200
The Spiegel Group has laid off 200 people from its Bothell call center, which handles catalog orders for Eddie Bauer and the company’s other divisions.

Debbie Koopman, spokeswoman for Spiegel, said the layoffs announced at the end of January took effect immediately.

The company’s call center on Monte Villa Parkway now employs about 425 people. It has employed up to 1,300 at times since it opened in 1997.

Another 100 employees were laid off at the same time in Virginia, Koopman said.

The Spiegel Group, which has struggled financially in recent years, reported in January that the company’s direct sales declined 27 percent during 2002. Overall, Spiegel saw total sales fall 18 percent, from $2.78 billion to under $2.3 billion.

Also, Koopman said, more customers are ordering online, reducing the number of calls handled by the company.

Microvision wins development deal
Microvision Inc., which makes light-scanning and augmented vision devices, has received a subcontract from Concurrent Technologies Corp. of Pennsylvania related to a naval information display program.

The Bothell company said the subcontract, initially worth $350,000, calls for the development of an augmented vision system that uses 40 percent less power than the company’s Nomad device. The head-worn system also needs to be cost effective to produce in large numbers.

Blue Heron awarded grant
Blue Heron Biotechnology Inc. has received a $2.4 million federal grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, allowing the Bothell-based company to accelerate its research into gene synthesis.

In 2001, Blue Heron began selling genes made with its automated synthesis technology. With the grant, the company plans to build and test a new DNA synthesis system capable of producing 20,000 base pairs of genes in 12 hours.

Top honors for Everett Hyundai
Out of 145 Hyundai dealerships in the Western region, Hyundai of Everett has been awarded top honors for customer satisfaction in both sales and service, according to Regional General Manager Rick Leuders, who announced the first-place award.

Owner Gary Micallef attributes his success to lessons he learned as Brien Ford’s service and parts manager in Everett for 21 years.

“Customer satisfaction is the future foundation of the automotive business, and providing a quality product is the other part of the equation,” he said.

The business opened two years ago at 4808 Evergreen Way.

PUD customers, employees
raise funds to help those in need
Project Pride, a program funded through voluntary donations that Snohomish County PUD customers make through their utility bills, raised $106,291 last year to help more than 1,400 customers pay for their electricity.

The contributions were distributed to people in Snohomish County and Camano Island throughout 2002.

The program helps low-income customers pay their bills. The PUD has the highest power rates in the state. It collected $98,952 last year for customers who qualified based on their income. Snohomish County American Red Cross helps distribute the funds.

Another PUD program, Helping Hands, receives donations from PUD employees to assist low-income senior citizens with their winter utility bills. Last year, the program raised more than $7,339 from various means. Sources include employee payroll deductions, a holiday bazaar fund-raiser, aluminum recycling drives, coffee sales and book fairs.

Snohomish County Human Services helps administer the program by identifying those in need and distributing checks to residents.

Web site to help prevent
workplace injuries
An ergonomics ideas bank has been launched by the state Department of Labor and Industries to provide information about job safety and health. It looks at ways to help workers prevent on-the-job injuries. The searchable collection of ideas is located at www.LNI.wa.gov/wisha/ergoideas/.

New businesses, locations
n Jim Hough has purchased the Hairborne hair styling salon at 4218 Rucker Ave., Everett. The business previously was owned by Lonney Ford, who has retired after nearly three decades as the salon’s owner. Jackie Dunbar will manage the salon.

n Nfuze Business Media of Everett has been created by the merger of two formerly competing firms, Web Solutions and Web Renditions. Nfuze designs and develops Web sites and provides other marketing services, including logo development, business card and stationery design, vinyl graphics and signs, and branded clothing. The company’s Web site is at www.nfuzemedia.com.

n The Lynnwood Diet Center has opened for business at 4610 200th St. SW, Suite D. The center is owned by D’Ann Monteiro-Bennett. She and her daughter, Kirsten Viernes, will serve as counselors at the center, one of 200 in the Diet Center Worldwide network. The phone number is 425-775-5353.

n Jade Shutes and Mariah Kornberg have opened Vital Nature, a “wellness center, edu-cation and supply company” in Marysville that offers classes in aromatherapy, skin care, herbal remedies, stress relief and overall wellness as well as products including various oils, unscented cream and lotion bases, local beeswax and honey. The store is located at 1519 Ninth St., Suite 103. The phone number is 360-657-1596.

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