Company cancels move to Bothell
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, October 2, 2003
An Oregon company that makes bar code scanners has decided not to shift its headquarters to south Snohomish County, despite announcing that move in June.
The new board of directors at PSC Inc., based in Portland, has canceled the move. As a result, Ed Borey, the company’s chief executive officer and a resident of Mukilteo, has resigned.
"We thank Ed for his efforts during his tenure as president and CEO," said Michael Klein, chairman of PSC’s executive committee, in a memo to employees. "The board will undertake a search for a new person to lead PSC, which likely will take several months."
The memo to employees, dated last week, went on to say that the company plans to "prudently focus its resources" after PSC’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.
Rebecca Green, a spokeswoman for PSC, said the company has decided to save money by moving the headquarters office to PSC’s manufacturing plant in Eugene, Ore.
When contacted at his Mukilteo home, Borey confirmed that he is no longer with PSC, but he declined to comment further, saying it would be inappropriate.
Borey, who previously worked for Everett-based Intermec Technologies Corp., joined PSC in 2001 to help the company restructure and recover from mounting debt. The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last fall after Littlejohn &Co. of Connecticut agreed to purchase PSC’s debt and essentially take over ownership. The company also reverted from a publicly held company into a private firm.
Borey said in June that the Seattle area’s technology-related expertise, venture capital and more convenient location made it preferable to Portland. It also was more convenient to where he lived, as he had been commuting to Portland from Mukilteo regularly.
As the company emerged from Chapter 11, it was a good time to make the move, Borey said at the time. PSC originally had planned to move into the Canyon Heights building in Bothell this fall, bringing about 40 corporate staff members to the area.
But Klein said Littlejohn is now focusing on streamlining PSC’s operations and accelerating product development.
Worldwide, PSC employs more than 700 people. Founded in 1969 as Photographic Sciences Corp., it installed the nation’s first supermarket bar code scanner in 1974. The company’s product line now includes self-checkout systems and a range of mobile and wireless devices.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
