<< Previous   of   Next >> Snohomish County Business Journal Archive Photo  (click to enlarge) LIFE BEYOND BOEING focused on the diversification of the county’s economy as a way of getting through the aerospace company’s slump in 1998, the company announced it would be cutting 48,000 jobs through 2000.

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CONTACT SCBJ John Wolcott, Editor jwolcott@scbj.com Dave Clark, Assistant Editor dclark@scbj.com

January 1999: “Life Beyond Boeing” weighs the aerospace company’s importance in Snohomish County’s economy

“Life Beyond Boeing” was the headlined cover story for the Herald Business Journal a decade ago in January 1999. As the Boeing Co. announced in mid-Dec. 1998 that it would be cutting 48,000 jobs companywide through 2000 – 20,000 more than expected – the business journal focused on the diversification of the county’s economy as a way of getting through the aerospace company’s slump.
Economic statistics for the county published in our January 1999 issue showed the Nov. 1998 unemployment rate at 3.3 percent for the county (compared to 6.1 percent in January 2009).
BF Goodrich Aerospace at Paine Field announced it would hire perhaps hundreds of workers to its aircraft maintenance facility. The company draws from the same pool of aerospace machinists and workers as Boeing so job losses at the county’s largest company could mean a boost for the Goodrich workforce.
Other positive economic news in that issue noted that the Tulalip Tribes had announced plans for a new and larger casino that the one operating in a former Bingo hall on the reservation and that a new business park was also planned. Two potential, unidentified tenants for the business park (which later became today’s Quil Ceda Village) were being contacted at the time. Today, both WalMart and Home Depot have been operating in the Village for several years.
The Washington Software Alliance reported that Snohomish County’s software industry was continuing to share in the statewide growth of those high-tech companies. In 1988, the WSA reported, there were only 808 software firms in the state, whereas at the end of 1998 there were 2,500 companies, an increase of more than 300 percent. In 1997, those firms generated $15 billion in revenues, coming not only from Microsoft but also from hundreds of other small to medium-sized firms.
US Bank economist John Mitchell predicted that despite Boeing’s job cutbacks in the Puget Sound area the nation and region were in an unprecedented 93rd month of economic expansion, a trend he said would help the county and region continue to grow.
Bothell-based ATL Ultrasound announced it had been acquired in September by Philips Medical Systems, the Dutch leading manufacture of medical imaging devices; Intermec Corp. in Everett announced its leading role in the bar-code technology industry was fueling increasing sales, Perteet Engineering Everett reported its strongest project backlog ever with $5 million of new projects booked in 1998 and Kimberly-Clark announced it would invest $48 million to upgrade its Everett waterfront plant, home to 1,000 employees.
Snohomish County Economic Development Council new CEO, Deborah Knutson, said new business development would be her primary goal in 1999, working with local companies in retention and expansion programs. Soaring land prices in King County were already beginning to attract expanding and new businesses to Snohomish County, particularly to its industrial parks near Paine Field and the Boeing Co.’s airliner assembly plant.
Elsewhere in the economy, Sierra Suites opened a new hotel in Canyon Park, Everett radio station KRKO moved from the lowlands of Lowell to the top floor of the Everett Mutual Tower on Colby Ave., and Safeway Credit Union changes its name to Qualstar Credit Union.
In real estate, home prices listed in November 2008 showed the median home sale in the county at $174,950, meaning half of the homes sold were more expensive and half of the sales were below that figure. In November 2008, the median home price in the county totaled $320,000, down from a median price of $380,000 at the peak in July 2007, and at the same level as Jan. 2006 when it was also $320,000.
Ten years ago, Frontier Bank assets topped $1 billion, compared to $4.2 billion in Sept. 2008; Staples announced it would open a store in the Marysville Town Center Mall; Marine Matrix expanded its Marysville facilities and The Everett Clinic celebrated 75 years of service and announced the installation of one of the nation’s newest Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems.
Also, Pavilion Cinemas opened a five-screen theater in the Stanwood Pavilion Entertainment complex, which includes several restaurants, all part of the Stanwood-Camano Village shopping center east of downtown.
The Everett Area Chamber of Commerce announced 1999 would mark the start of Good Morning, Snohomish County, the first countywide gathering of multiple chamber of commerce members for a business networking breakfast. That tradition continues in 2009.
Also, the Everett Area Chamber, South Snohomish County Chamber and the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County announced the publishing of “Snohomish County: Treasure of the Pacific Northwest,” a coffee-table photo and story profile of the county.