Published March 2002

Business Briefs

Philips, SonoSite win federal contracts
Philips Medical Systems North America of Bothell, the parent company of ATL Ultrasound, has won a $35 million contract to provide ATL Ultrasound equipment to the military and federal agencies. The contract is for a year, with four one-year options.

SonoSite Inc., also of Bothell and an ATL spin-off company, won a $5 million contract to provide its portable ultrasound equipment under the same contract terms.

Also: SonoSite develops new scanner
SonoSite has unveiled a new portable heart scanner called the SonoHeart ELITE system.

The handheld ultrasound device weighs just 6 pounds and was described as the first all-digital portable system with continuous wave Doppler and Extended Resolution Harmonic Imaging.

Among its new features is the ability to accurately measure the flow of blood to the heart. Company officials said trained clinicians will now be able to perform a complete heart ultrasound exam in a wide variety of settings.

Human resources seminar set for March 6
Personnel Management Systems Inc. is holding a human resources seminar from 9 to 11 a.m. March 6 at its corporate offices, 6725 116th Ave. NE, Kirkland.

Hiring, management training, employee overtime and responding to harassment complaints will be among the topics discussed. Cost to attend the seminar is $25 per attendee. For full-service clients of PMSI, the seminar is free.

Pre-registration is required, and seating is limited. For more information or to reserve a spot, call Heidi Weston at 425-576-1900, Ext. 209 or go online to www.hrpmsi.com.

Local BPW group plans
two events for March
The Greater Port Gardner Bay Business and Professional Women group has two events planned for March, beginning with its Lunch and Learn Series March 12 at The Flying Pig restaurant in Everett.

Featured speaker for the event, which runs from noon to 1 p.m., will be Samantha Hicks, who will present “The 2001 Tax Law Changes and What It Means to You.” Hicks is an investment adviser representative with LPL Financial Services and the President of the local BPW group. Cost is $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations, due by March 5, can be made by calling Hicks at 425-355-8805.

The second event will be a dinner meeting March 25 at The Flying Pig featuring a panel of local business women discussing “Women’s Business in Everett.” Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 7:15 p.m. Call Hicks for more information.

SBA adjusts small-business
standards for inflation
Effective Feb. 22, the U.S. Small Business Administration increased its revenue-based size standards for small businesses by 15.8 percent to account for inflation since 1994.

Since the size standards are used to determine whether a business is a small business for the purposes of eligibility for SBA programs, the inflation adjustments will make it possible for at least 8,600 companies to regain their eligibility as small businesses, according to the SBA.

“The adjustment does not impact industries where size, rather than revenue, determines small business status,” said Bob Meredith, District Director of the SBA Seattle District Office.

For additional information on the new size standards, visit the SBA’s Office of Size Standards Web page at www.sba.gov/size, and click on “What’s New?”

Neighborhood Networkers
creates new group
Neighborhood Networkers has formed a new networking group in the Edmonds/Mukilteo/Everett area. Meetings are every other Wednesday at noon at The Pointe Restaurant at The Harbour Pointe Golf Club, 11817 Harbour Pointe Blvd., Mukilteo. The next meeting is March 13.

For more information or to check business category availability, call Wendy Wilson Grace at 425-349-1562.

Everett Public Schools Foundation
to hold benefit breakfast
The Everett Public Schools Foundation’s eighth annual Benefit Breakfast is to be held at 7 a.m. March 7 at Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek.

“Framing our Future,” the theme of this year’s breakfast event, will highlight the impact foundation programs have on students’ futures.

Along with Carol Whitehead, Superintendent of Everett Public Schools, four students are scheduled to speak on how the foundation has had an impact on their future.

Sponsors include Bank of America, Cascade Bank, Dwayne Lane’s Family of Auto Centers, Dykeman Architects, Frontier Bank, H&L Sports, Hascal & Sjoholm & Co., Henry Cogswell College, Klappenbach Architects, Moss Adams, Puget Sound Kidney Centers, Safeco Mutual Funds, and Skilling, Ward, Magnusson & Barkshire.

There is no cost to attend the event, but a donation will be requested. For more information or to reserve a seat, call 425-339-4686.

Datamarine ends land-radio efforts
Datamarine International Inc. of Mountlake Terrace has abandoned its long struggle to develop a land-radio business based on new technology, opting instead to focus on its popular marine radio equipment.

Datamarine President David Thompson said the board of the publicly traded company has agreed to license its SEA land mobile 220 MHz technology to a Florida company, Bizcom USA Inc., for an undisclosed sum.

The company purchased the rights to make use of or sell all of the land mobile products of SEA, a Datamarine subsidiary. Datamarine itself will get out of the business, though it may do some work on contract for Bizcom, Thompson said.

“We’re gonna concentrate on marine,” Thompson said. “It’s no secret that we’ve had a big working-capital problem. This gives us a chance to at least improve that and make investments in marine.

“We have big back orders and potential back orders in marine products.”

Eden Bioscience posts loss
Eden Bioscience Corp., a Bothell manufacturer of a new plant growth product, lost $23.7 million last year as sales plummeted, it reported in February. That compares with a loss of $15.7 million in 2000.

The company’s net loss in the fourth quarter of last year was $7.5 million, compared with a net loss of $2.9 million for the last quarter of 2000.

“In 2001, we learned how challenging it is to introduce a new technology into a tough agricultural market,” said Brad Powell, Interim President and CFO. “In 2002, our focus will be to get Messenger used by growers.”

The company also announced some good news — word that Messenger, its sole product, had been approved for sale in Germany as a plant strengthener.

Gold Bar gravel pit permits are sought
Cadman Inc. is seeking permits to develop a gravel mining operation on a 580-acre site southeast of Gold Bar.

Company officials said the site, adjacent to an existing gravel operation, would be developed in 20-acre increments. About half would be undisturbed to serve as a buffer to the active mining areas.

The company expects to extract about 1 million tons of sand and gravel every year for the next 25 years, selling the material for use in road-building and other projects. The company is hoping the area will be rezoned from forestry to mining to allow the operation. The company is planning to open a project office in Gold Bar.

Cadman has two existing gravel operations in Monroe and another in Mill Creek.

Edward Jones tops Fortune magazine’s ‘Best Companies’ list
In its Feb. 4 issue, Fortune magazine named Edward Jones tops in its annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list.

The St. Louis-based company, which has more than 20 offices in Snohomish County, garnered praise from employees, who, according to Fortune, thought highly of the company’s ethics. Edward Jones also did not have layoffs in 2001 despite the economic slowdown, with bonuses coming a week early “to help brokers hurt by trading decline.”

Physical-therapy center moves,
expands service
Cascade Rehabilitation has moved to a new Mukilteo-area clinic and added a hand therapy program. The new location, 12121 Harbour Reach Drive, Building A, Suite 100, has 4,900 square feet, about twice the size of the old facility.

John Zanas, Clinic Manager, said the added space will allow for new programs and for community and company educational events.

The therapist-owned company has three other clinics in Snohomish County, at Smokey Point, downtown Everett and Silver Lake.

Joanne Haberman and Debbie Phibbs will join the Harbour Pointe clinic to lead the new hand program, which will focus on arm and hand problems from such things as burns, wounds, repetitive motion disorders and arthritis.

Diversified earns international certification
Mukilteo-based Diversified’s Quality Management System recently met the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization’s 9001:2000 certification, which is a set of standards relating to customer-driven quality management systems.

The three-year certification is valid for “manufacturing and assembly of hardware and electrical assemblies, subassemblies and components,” according to a new release issued by Diversified, a contract manufacturer specializing in wire and cable, precision mechanical assembly and adhesives and bonding.

Along with its manufacturing, Diversified also provides recycling services and last year acquired a woodworking business.

The not-for-profit company uses its financial returns to fund services for people with disabilities, including work-skills training, career development and community employment.

Naval housing project celebrates opening
Carroll’s Creek Landing, a privatized Naval housing community just west of Interstate 5 off the Smokey Point exit in Arlington, opened its first neighborhood with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 31.

Kirtley-Cole Associates Inc. of Snohomish was the general contractor on the $43 million public/private venture between Gateway Everett LLC and the U.S. Navy. When completed, the community will provide affordable housing for 288 Snohomish County military families, according to a news release issued by Kirtley-Cole.

Pinnacle Realty Management Co. of Seattle will manage the Carroll’s Creek Landing community, which, besides housing, includes a community center, tot lots, nature trails, picnic areas and basketball courts.

The Integrated Being opens in Lynnwood
The Integrated Being, a fitness and wellness center, has opened at 7627 196th St. SW in Lynnwood.

Owned and managed by fitness and wellness consultant and trainer Paula Houston, the center provides personal fitness training, yoga classes and body-work therapies as well as workshops and seminars on fitness- and wellness-related topics, according to a news release. There also is a book and gift store.

For more information, call 425-775-4850.

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