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www.democratherald.com/business • www.gazettetimes.com/business
March 2012
The paper mill and pulp production plants of Georgia Pacific and Pope and Talbot work alongside each other in Halsey. The paper mills are among a variety of business clusters in Linn County. MARK YLEN | MID-VALLEY INBUSINESS
What are we known for? Key business clusters shape our communities’ ‘Made in the Mid-Valley’ image By NANCY RASKAUSKAS
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ou may have heard or read that back in 2010, a scholarly journal article named Corvallis the nation’s “most innovative city,” due in large part for its high number of patents per capita. And, you’ve probably seen signs or heard it proudly proclaimed in Albany, Tangent or Lebanon that Linn County is the “Grass Seed Capital of the World.” These are just a few of the mid-valley’s many bragging rights, made possible by the intersection of likeminded businesses large and small, co-existing in close proximity, creating synergies through shared resources and work forces. But, on a regional and global level, what are our midvalley communities really known for? A series of interviews with local experts suggests that the answers are far more complex and less self-contained than that notion of “inventors on one side of the river, farmers on the other.”
Grown in Linn While discussing the most important business clusters in the Albany area, WorkSource Oregon’s Central Willamette Valley Regional Economist Pat O’Connor said “There’s no question that you’d have to put the metals manufacturing at the top of the list with ATI and SelMet. It’s a long-term industry that started with the bureau of mines located here in the 1940s, and unique in terms of the specialty metals that they make.” Those metals include titanium, zirconium, niobium and hafnium. This cluster of businesses, which includes ATI Wah Chang and Pacific Cast, is one of the areas’ largest employers, O’Connor added. For the rest of Linn County, O’Connor cites paper manufacturing (with the two mills near Halsey as a significant cluster, as well as timber and wood products, frozen food processing (National Frozen Foods and Oregon Freeze Dry) and manufactured homes (Golden West Homes), with several distinctive technology firms (such as ENTEK and EnerG2), grass seed (OreGro, Pennington Seed, Barenbrug, and others), and general agriculture not to be counted out of the mix. The structure of the timber industry has changed greatly in the past half century, but O’Connor said that he’s confident that one thing will remain constant: “We will still be harvesting trees in east Linn County. ... It will continue to be an important part of our economy.” But there’s an important caveat: The number of jobs provided by this sector of the economy may well continue to drop, referencing the retooling of local mills that slashed the necessary number of workers from about 200 to 50 to produce the same amount of board feet. Thanks to the climate, geography and soils, Linn County is a hot spot for growing cool weather grasses. While the mid-valley’s world-renowned reputation is
ANDY CRIPE | MID-VALLEY INBUSINESS
Travis Hise, left, and Heidi Eveland decorate the windows at SunWize at the intersection of 14th and Main streets in Philomath. SunWize is among the mid-valley businesses in the renewable energy sector. not in imminent danger, this capital-intensive industry has been hit hard since the housing downturn, O’Connor said, with less demand coming from new housing projects and golf courses. “That’s why you’ve seen some of the grass seed farmers switch to wheat recently,” he added. Most recently, Linn County has seen the addition of distribution centers for Target and Lowe’s to its business landscape. O’Connor attributes this to Linn County’s relatively affordable real estate paired with easy access on and off of Interstate 5. It’s an attractive combination. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see more companies locate distribution centers in the area,” O’Connor said.
Green innovations In Benton County, Marcy Eastham, executive director of the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce, sees agriculture and technology as the top two areas in which local businesses have created beneficial synergies and growth. And one thing that Corvallis-area businesses do particularly well in both those spheres is sustainable or “green” development of practices and products, she added. “We have some pretty innovative companies,” Eastham said. For instance, Earthfort, a small-scale local company located off Western Boulevard near downtown Corvallis, helps international clients mitigate soil problems while reducing the use of fertilizers. “That’s an example of an ag business that a lot of people don’t know about,” Eastham said. While there are local giants in agriculture and forestry
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in the area such as Stahlbush Island Farms (technically in Linn County, but closer to Corvallis), and Starker Forests, there are also plenty of smaller farms and food producers using similar organic or sustainable philosophies in Corvallis’ “burgeoning and quickly growing food industry,” Eastham said. Those range from farms such as Denison’s, Sunbow and Afton Field, “All the way down to someone making flavored nuts in their kitchen and selling them over the Internet.” Another example of the many local businesses producing green products is EcNow Tech on the corner of First Street and Van Buren Avenue, Eastham said. EcNow manufactures biodegradable take out containers, cutlery, plates and bags. The list of companies making a name for themselves in renewable power and sustainable products is a long and varied one and includes: • Perpetua Power Technologies, which makes a line of energy-harvesting devices that, use exotic alloys to generate small amounts of electrical current from minor temperature fluctuations. Applications range from remote sensors and industrial process controls to medical monitors and wearable locator beacons. • NuScale Power, a company that aims to produce smaller, scalable and more economical nuclear-power reactors. • ZAPS, a company responsible for new optical detection technology it believes will revolutionize the way water is monitored for safety and pollutants dubbed the “LiquID.” • Columbia Power Technologies, a local business trying to make a splash in the growing field of renewable energy with power generating buoys that were developed in partnership with Oregon State University’s O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Lab. • Trillium Fiber Fuels, a company that has been working to make cellulosic ethanol (a biofuel) from residual plant material. • Metzger Green Build, a construction company that has worked extensively with recycled and reclaimed materials.
Micro work, big success Individual business successes rise and fall within clusters. A well-known story in Corvallis is the long term decline in Hewlett-Packard’s local work force (best estimates say it’s been cut from more than 6,000 to less than 2,000 since the end of the 1990s). But, the technology firm still is a significant shaping force in the community. It’s still the third largest employer. “HP is down, but still hiring,” Eastham said.“And (the company) is making tremendous use of its campus,” she said, referring to the leasing of former HP building space to SEE BUSINESS CLUSTERS | A6