Published November 2005

Business Briefs

Arlington manufacturing plant
to close, lay off 140 workers
A Bellingham-based electronics company is laying off all 140 workers at its Arlington manufacturing plant, which is scheduled to close at the end of November.

G.B. Enterprises Inc. makes transformers and other power systems for the cable television and telecommunications industries at a facility near the south end of Arlington Municipal Airport.

Kim Rice, human resources manager for the company’s parent, Alpha Technologies, said the company is consolidating its manufacturing work at its facilities in Bellingham and Atlanta to improve its “flexibility with customers.”

In its official notice to the Arlington employees, the privately held company said competitive considerations also were a factor. The company added that the Arlington employees will receive up to four weeks of severance pay.

G.B. Enterprises made headlines in June 2004 when the company pleaded guilt in U.S. District Court to filing false tax returns for 1996. As a result, it paid more than $36 million in back taxes, interest and penalties.

Earlier this year, G.B. Enterprises also was fined $42,300 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to report its use of lead.

B/E Aerospace posts order backlog
B/E Aerospace said in October that its orders backlog had hit a record $1 billion during the third quarter. As a result, the company raised its revenue guidance for 2006 to about $1 billion, with earnings of $1.10 a share.

The company cited “robust” demand for its premium-class products, two recent contracts to overhaul coach-class cabins for airlines and three new contracts to provide oxygen systems to business jets. B/E is the Florida-based parent company of Flight Structures Inc. of Marysville.

CDi Engineers relocates
CDi Engineers, a Lynnwood-based mechanical consulting firm, recently moved to accommodate staffing increases.

CDi’s new office, at 4200 194th St. SW, Suite 200, reflects the firm’s continuous focus on sustainability and allows for future growth, the company said.

For more information, go online to www.cdiengineers.com.

EdCC Foundation seeks
distinguished alumni
The Edmonds Community College Foundation seeks nominations of alumni who have gone on to do great things in their professional lives and have contributed to the community for its 2005 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

Recipients receive permanent recognition on campus and will be honored at a celebration in early 2006. Nominations are due by Nov. 4.

Since being established in 1991, the college’s Distinguished Alumni award has been given to 32 people notable for academic success, professional achievement and community service. They include outstanding community leaders who are artists, attorneys, fire chiefs, musicians, educators, therapists, business owners and engineers.

To nominate an alum, use the online form at http://foundation.edcc.edu, call the foundation at 425-640-1884 or send e-mail to foundation@edcc.edu.

EdCC offers event-planning
classes online
Edmonds Community College now offers event-planning classes online for people who plan events as part of their job or are exploring a career in the hospitality industry, the school said. The classes are part of an event-planning certificate that can be completed in less than a year.

The new online classes are “Introduction to Hospitality,” which covers the operations of the food and beverage, lodging and travel industry, and “Event Coordination,” which provides the logistics for planning various types of meetings and events, including market and sales research.

For more information, call 425-640-1208 or go online to http://hosp.edcc.edu.

Seattle Genetics named state’s
fastest-growing tech firm
Bothell-based Seattle Genetics Inc., a developer of anti-cancer drugs, is the fastest-growing technology firm in the state, according to Deloitte’s annual Fast 50 list.

Four other companies in the county, including three in Bothell, also ranked on the list.

Seattle Genetics saw revenues grow by 6,669 percent during the past five years. For comparison, the No. 2 company on the list, Seattle’s Cell Therapeutics, recorded revenue growth of 5,867 percent.

Other local companies that ranked on the Fast 50 list were:

• Mortgage Investment Lending Associates (MILA) Inc., a private lending firm based in south Snohomish County. It was No. 12, with revenue growth of 872 percent.
• SonoSite Inc. of Bothell, the maker of portable ultrasound systems, was No. 20, with revenues increasing by 262 percent over the past five years.
• Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp. and Quinton Cardiology, which recently merged to become Cardiac Science, ranked 33rd and 35th, respectively.

Chiropractic office opens in Mill Creek
Synergy Chiropractic, located in the Mill Creek Town Center, celebrated its grand opening in October. For more information on the new office, call 425-357-1105 or go online to www.AchievingWellness.net.

Microvision gets contract for upgrade
Bothell’s Microvision Inc., a developer of augmented vision and light-scanning technology, has received a $740,000 subcontract to increase the ruggedness of its helmet-mounted display for the U.S. military.

As part of the contract, Microvision is expected to deliver 10 prototype units that meet various military standards. Microvision already has supplied the Army’s Stryker vehicle brigades with dozens of the helmet displays.

Etiquette consulting firm opens
Etiquette West Inc., an etiquette consulting firm, recently opened in Edmonds.

Operated by Lyn Siep, the company provides etiquette services, such as manners and dining classes, for children, teens and young adults as well as for industry and business groups and wedding parties.

Siep is trained and certified by The Protocol School of Washington in Maine.

For more information, contact Siep at 425-772-7573 or by sending e-mail to etiquettewest@comcast.net.

Capital Bancorp looks to start
community bank in Everett
Capital Bancorp, a national bank holding company, is moving to establish a new community bank in Everett.

If all goes according to plan, the new bank, for now being called Bank of Everett, will open its doors in the spring. The effort is being led by former EverTrust Bank President Mike Deller.

The proposed Bank of Everett will specialize in providing bank services to small and medium-size businesses, as well as to business owners, business professionals and the commercial real estate industry.

Capital Bancorp has taken an unusual approach to the banking business, developing a network of stand-alone community banks, each with its own charter, instead of a more-traditional branch network.

Capital Bancorp now has 38 affiliated banks in 11 states. It provides 51 percent of each new bank’s start-up capital, and provides key support services. Each separate bank, however, is run by locally hired managers and a local board of directors that makes its own lending and pricing decisions.

Everett will be the company’s second bank in Washington. It opened Bank of Bellevue in June.

Retail sales growth strong for Zumiez
Everett-based Zumiez Inc. reported its September sales rose nearly 27 percent, to $19.5 million, over the same month last year. Same-store sales grew by 10 percent during the month, with the rest of the growth coming from the teen clothing retailer’s new locations. Zumiez has 158 stores across the nation.

EvCC launches
School of Business Design
Everett Community College is launching the School of Business Design this winter quarter to prepare entrepreneurs and small businesses for a changing global economy, according to the college.

The goal is to change the way entrepreneurship education is designed and delivered to better support small-business development in Snohomish County, said Pat Sisneros, dean of the EvCC Business and Technology Division.

EvCC instructor Jamie Curtismith, a former director of the Northwest Washington Women’s Business Center, was hired in August as the director of the new school.

“The majority of small businesses fail within their first few years of launching. We’ve created a new business model to support entrepreneurs and reverse the trend,” she said.

EvCC receives $180,000
metal trades grant
Everett Community College has received a $180,000 state grant to expand access to its high-demand metal trades programs.

The grant will support 20 full-time equivalent students in EvCC’s precision machining and welding/fabrication programs, helping meet the acute shortage of workers with those skills, the school said.

EvCC’s welding and fabrication program trains students to fit and fabricate metal from start to finish — the only program in the state that teaches heavy plate fabrication, pipe fitting, sheet-metal fabrication and use of the computer-operated CNC plasma cutter in a single program.

Funding from the grant will help EvCC to replace aging precision machining and welding equipment, such as a sheet-metal press break. New equipment will be added at the college and the sites of EvCC partners, including the Sno-Isle Technical Skills Center.

For more information about EvCC’s metal trades programs, contact Frank Cox, associate dean of work-force development, at 388-9551 or by e-mail to fcox@everettcc.edu.

Making a Difference for Women
nominees sought
Soroptimist International of Everett is seeking nominations for the Soroptimist Making a Difference for Women Award. This program honors women who use their personal or professional influence to improve the lives of other women.

This recognition program is international in scope. It begins at the Everett Soroptimist club level, with a $500 award to be donated to the charitable organization of the winner’s choosing. The winner then advances to other levels of the Soroptimist organization. One finalist is selected to receive the annual award, a $5,000 donation to the charitable organization of her choice.

On Feb. 22, 2006, the Soroptimist International of Everett’s Soroptimist Making a Difference for Women Award winner will be recognized at a luncheon to be held at the Everett Golf & Country Club.

For more information or a nomination form, contact Lisa Goldsworthy at 425-388-3713 or by sending e-mail to lisa.goldsworthy@co.snohomish.wa.us.

PCSI Design to take part
in Boeing 787 project
PCSI Design Inc., a CAD-service firm based in Everett, recently was retained by Dräger Aerospace of Lübeck, Germany, to join a global partnership that will build the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

PCSI President Carlos Veliz will lead his team in the new partnership, with the company incorporating a multicultural vision to propel innovation in design of the 787 passenger service units combined with a strategy that is simple, flexible and intuitive, PCSI said.

“For PCSI Design, being named to this international partnership for such a prestigious aerospace project represents a major milestone in our firm’s evolution and is a perfect illustration of how large corporations and minority-owned businesses can work together effectively to achieve both corporate and community goals,” Veliz said.

New masonry certification offered
For the first time, masonry contractors have the opportunity to earn certification in the state of Washington, thanks to a new educational program offered by Washington State Conference of Mason Contractors.

The program was established to enhance contractors’ scope of expertise and to promote continuing education within the industry to keep current with advanced technologies, applications and materials, program officials said. Participants are all owners or principals of established masonry contracting companies.

“We’ve instituted the Certified Mason Contractor Education Program to raise the standards and level of professionalism, work quality and reputation among masonry contractors,” said Dennis Augustine, executive director of WSCMC.

Classes are held once a month during the 12-month-long program at a WSCMC facility in Bellevue, and participants must pass a rigorous, comprehensive exam and submit a project for peer review and assessment in order to graduate.

For more information, online video and a complete list of Certified Mason Contractors, go to www.masonconf.com.

Hotel occupancy up 10 percent
Eighty-five percent of Snohomish County’s hotel and motel rooms stayed full in August, compared with 75 percent occupancy during the same month of 2004, according to Smith Travel Research. Along with the upsurge in guests, the average room charge per night was $75.38, also 10 percent higher than last year.

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