County saw manufacturing boom while jobs disappeared elsewhere

  • By Deanna Duff For The Herald Business Journal
  • Monday, January 18, 2016 12:51pm
  • Business

John Monroe had a front-row seat to Snohomish County’s manufacturing boom.

With the opening of Boeing’s first Everett plant in 1967, he witnessed his hometown transition from predominantly a mill town to the advanced manufacturing juggernaut it is today.

A 2015 University of Washington study found Snohomish County boasted the nation’s largest percentage of manufacturing job growth over a period of nearly 50 years.

From 1967 to 2014, it surged 276 percent increasing from 16,000 to 60,156 jobs. The study was based on U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.

“We can’t forget how important manufacturing and advanced manufacturing are to our community in terms of both jobs and social benefits,” says Monroe, chief operating officer of Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Snohomish County is an encouraging anomaly. In 1967, manufacturing jobs accounted for 25 percent of the U.S. workforce compared to 8.3 percent in 2014. Locally, neighboring King County dropped 45.5 percent.

“I’ve been here (Washington) since 1955 and long before Everett’s Boeing plant. So, I knew in general things had changed, but even I was surprised by how much Snohomish County’s growth outpaces other places,” says Richard Morrill, the study’s author and University of Washington professor emeritus, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.

Snohomish County contributes $36.2 billion to the state economy. The majority of the county’s manufacturing jobs are related to aerospace and anchored by Boeing’s presence, according to Economic Alliance.

“We have the full life cycle of employment in Everett from conceptualizing and designing airplanes, to building, corporate functions, marketing and sales. Plus, we have numerous suppliers in Snohomish County,” says Bill McSherry, Boeing vice president, State &Local and Global Corporate Citizenship.

McSherry estimates that Boeing’s current workforce in Everett is approximately 44,000.

Growth includes the April 2013 opening of Boeing’s new 180,000 square-foot Everett Delivery Center which tripled previous capacity.

Additionally, the 747 recently was updated and the 767 line was boosted in 2015. Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner is also currently under production in Everett.

“There has been a period of a couple of years where every plane in the Everett factory has been updated. That investment — I can’t even tell how many of millions of dollars — is driving a remarkable increase in work for Everett,” McSherry says.

The future of Snohomish manufacturing work will likely continue expanding with the development of Boeing’s 777X. The program is projected to support 56,000 jobs in Washington.

Everett will be home to the 1.2 million square-foot Composite Wing Center. Construction is underway with a projected opening of 2016 to begin building the largest wing in history.

According to Monroe, aerospace ranks highest in all industry sectors for what is known as the multiplier effect — additional jobs created for every advance manufacturing job.

Every Snohomish County aerospace worker generates an additional 1.67 jobs.

“I think part of it is that aerospace industry salaries are higher and afford a bit more discretionary income to spend on services and education. It just overall affords the community a higher level of employment,” Monroe says.

While Boeing is the region’s primary linchpin, the enduring strength of Snohomish County’s manufacturing sector is an ecosystem of diverse contributors. A 2013 study by Community Attributes, Inc., a Seattle-based consulting firm, found that the county is home to 219 aerospace-related businesses.

“When we think about economic development, there is the concept of economic clusters, concentrations of given industries. There is no better example of an economic cluster making everyone stronger than what’s in Everett when it comes to aerospace,” McSherry says.

A number of companies recently relocated to Snohomish County.

In 2009, Korry Electronics, a subsidiary of Esterline Control Systems, moved from South Lake Union to Paine Field.

In February 2015, Esterline acquired Belgium based Barco, an aerospace and defense display business, with half of the company moving to Everett.

“There were a couple of reasons for the move,” says Mike McCoy, president of Esterline-Korry Electronics and Esterline-Mason Electric. “One was the pro-business climate we experienced in Snohomish County. (Economic Alliance) reached out and bent over backwards working on site selection so we could be co-located to Boeing.”

McCoy cites the “rich community of skilled workers” as another reason why the area is fertile ground for manufacturing.

A local focus on educating the next generation of workers includes Everett Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Training &Education Center. Opened in 2014, an expansion is already planned to accommodate demand for new programs.

“We have to ensure we stay focused on our general ability to continue delivering skilled and qualified employees at all levels of the workforce. All levels is really a key aspect for me,” says Matt Yerbic, chief executive officer, Aviation Technical Services (ATS).

ATS provides airplane maintenance, major modifications and upgrades. Around 75 percent of its workforce is located in Snohomish County.

“The vast majority of people who are underpinning this industry and sector of Snohomish County may not be engineers, but are more likely folks who are very highly skilled technicians putting airplanes together and helping maintain them. That’s the driving engine,” Yerbic says.

Companies such as ATS provide sustainment services which help ensure a vibrant future for the manufacturing. Planes built in Everett continually return for maintenance and upgrades, work that would otherwise be lost.

“There is an entire life cycle from dreaming up the airplane to bringing it to life and then maintenance and modifications,” Yerbic says. “It’s great to have both sides of that process in one area. It’s not all that usual. It’s kind of a uniquely Snohomish County thing.” Snohomish County leaders are working to support continued manufacturing growth for the next 50 years.

Economic Alliance commissioned a study in 2014 that projected 200,000 new residents in 20 years, which equates to 103,000 additional jobs.

Economic Alliance is identifying new manufacturing sectors, such as maritime and medical device manufacturing, with a need for skills already present in the local workforce.

Diversifying will help Snohomish County weather possible future fluctuations in aerospace.

“What we have (in Snohomish County) comes out of good fortune and decades of hard work by people who cared about their industry,” Yerbic says. “We have what we have today on the backs of the drive from the people. We can’t ever take that for granted.”

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