Published: Monday, December 31, 2007
Snohomish County industries to watch in 2008
Aerospace, life sciences and electronics are the areas to watch for the Economic Development Council.
EVERETT -- Economic development gets more attention when the local economy is sputtering, but the business of retaining and attracting companies to Snohomish County never disappears.
Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, said the organization has plenty on its plate as 2008 arrives.
Most basically, however, the private nonprofit agency is focused on attracting and retaining industries that already are key to Snohomish County.
"The big thing will still be focusing on aerospace, life sciences and electronics," Knutson said.
Just a few years ago, the EDC helped lead the campaign to convince the Boeing Co. to assemble the 787 Dreamliner in Everett. That followed down years and big layoffs locally for the plane maker.
With the assembly work secured here and a huge backlog of orders for the new jet, Boeing's future is no longer a constant worry for the EDC.
"It's nice to see. But by the same token, you can't take them for granted," Knutson said.
Indeed, the whole experience in 2003 reinforced the need for the EDC and local leaders to talk with Boeing about its concerns more often.
But after the hard fight to bring the 787 assembly work to Everett, Knutson and the EDC's team enjoyed seeing the first jet unveiled last summer.
"Since we were so much involved with that from the beginning, that was a huge deal," Knutson said. The organization also used that event to promote the county as an aerospace hub. "We got to tell the story of Snohomish County."
After Boeing delayed the 787's first flight and its first projected delivery by six months this fall, the program's former chief made headlines at an EDC breakfast.
It was there that Mike Bair, who oversaw the Dreamliner program before being reassigned to a marketing position, raised questions about how well Boeing's worldwide assembly line approach was working. He suggested the company may not use far-flung suppliers around the globe for its next new jet.
Finally, earlier this month, the EDC celebrated the decision by CMC Biopharmaceuticals of Denmark to buy the former ICOS contract manufacturing facility in Bothell and retaining all 127 employees.
The plant had been expected to close its doors after Eli Lilly & Co. bought out ICOS earlier this year and closed the company's local offices and labs. CMC plans to invest an estimated $50 million and will add employees.
"It's exciting we get to get those 127 jobs, and that they have plans to grow," Knutson said.
CMC's plans dovetail nicely with the EDC's hopes to develop more biotech manufacturing in the county. In Lynnwood, Bayer HealthCare is moving along to get regulatory approval for production at its new facility there, which happens to be the state's only large-scale biotech drug plant.
But the buyout and closure of ICOS and recent setbacks and layoffs at Sonus Pharmaceuticals and Nastech in Bothell have hurt. On the other hand, Seattle Genetics in Bothell has grown into the second-largest biotech based in Washington and is moving ahead with several potential cancer drugs at once.
Gov. Chris Gregoire recently gave an Innovation Partnership Zone designation to the Bothell Biomedical Manufacturing Corridor. That is the first step toward establishing a potential University of Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Technology Institute to support medical device and ultrasound manufacturing in the area. Knutson said the EDC will work to attract grants for that effort.
The agency also is trying to secure tax breaks in Olympia for aerospace suppliers, not just Boeing, in this area. The agency may also have a role in the University of Washington's establishment of a new four-year campus in Snohomish County.
With fewer than eight staff members at the EDC and the associated Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Knutson said they hope to work effectively on all these things in 2008.
"Snohomish County is doing really well," she said. "We can't claim credit for all that, but we can keep marketing and telling the story of why the county is still a good place to do business."
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, said the organization has plenty on its plate as 2008 arrives.
Most basically, however, the private nonprofit agency is focused on attracting and retaining industries that already are key to Snohomish County.
"The big thing will still be focusing on aerospace, life sciences and electronics," Knutson said.
Just a few years ago, the EDC helped lead the campaign to convince the Boeing Co. to assemble the 787 Dreamliner in Everett. That followed down years and big layoffs locally for the plane maker.
With the assembly work secured here and a huge backlog of orders for the new jet, Boeing's future is no longer a constant worry for the EDC.
"It's nice to see. But by the same token, you can't take them for granted," Knutson said.
Indeed, the whole experience in 2003 reinforced the need for the EDC and local leaders to talk with Boeing about its concerns more often.
But after the hard fight to bring the 787 assembly work to Everett, Knutson and the EDC's team enjoyed seeing the first jet unveiled last summer.
"Since we were so much involved with that from the beginning, that was a huge deal," Knutson said. The organization also used that event to promote the county as an aerospace hub. "We got to tell the story of Snohomish County."
After Boeing delayed the 787's first flight and its first projected delivery by six months this fall, the program's former chief made headlines at an EDC breakfast.
It was there that Mike Bair, who oversaw the Dreamliner program before being reassigned to a marketing position, raised questions about how well Boeing's worldwide assembly line approach was working. He suggested the company may not use far-flung suppliers around the globe for its next new jet.
Finally, earlier this month, the EDC celebrated the decision by CMC Biopharmaceuticals of Denmark to buy the former ICOS contract manufacturing facility in Bothell and retaining all 127 employees.
The plant had been expected to close its doors after Eli Lilly & Co. bought out ICOS earlier this year and closed the company's local offices and labs. CMC plans to invest an estimated $50 million and will add employees.
"It's exciting we get to get those 127 jobs, and that they have plans to grow," Knutson said.
CMC's plans dovetail nicely with the EDC's hopes to develop more biotech manufacturing in the county. In Lynnwood, Bayer HealthCare is moving along to get regulatory approval for production at its new facility there, which happens to be the state's only large-scale biotech drug plant.
But the buyout and closure of ICOS and recent setbacks and layoffs at Sonus Pharmaceuticals and Nastech in Bothell have hurt. On the other hand, Seattle Genetics in Bothell has grown into the second-largest biotech based in Washington and is moving ahead with several potential cancer drugs at once.
Gov. Chris Gregoire recently gave an Innovation Partnership Zone designation to the Bothell Biomedical Manufacturing Corridor. That is the first step toward establishing a potential University of Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Technology Institute to support medical device and ultrasound manufacturing in the area. Knutson said the EDC will work to attract grants for that effort.
The agency also is trying to secure tax breaks in Olympia for aerospace suppliers, not just Boeing, in this area. The agency may also have a role in the University of Washington's establishment of a new four-year campus in Snohomish County.
With fewer than eight staff members at the EDC and the associated Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Knutson said they hope to work effectively on all these things in 2008.
"Snohomish County is doing really well," she said. "We can't claim credit for all that, but we can keep marketing and telling the story of why the county is still a good place to do business."
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(