Manufacturing 2019 Manufacturing Week Bus Tour | Page 20

Cascade Designs
Seattle
Cascade Designs, founded in 1972, is a family-owned
maker of some of the world’s most iconic outdoor brands,
including MSR, Therm-a-Rest, PackTowl, SealLine and
Platypus Hydration. Their recreational outdoor equipment
ranges from snowshoes to camping sleep pads. The company
employs 249 people in Seattle and 386 company-wide.
Chris Parkhurst, senior vice president of sales for Cascade Designs, shakes the hand of
AWB President Kris Johnson after Cascade Designs was named the recipient of AWB’s 2019
Manufacturing Excellence Award for Operational Excellence.
Above: Q13 television news coverage.
At left: Stickers of Cascade Designs'
brands on the Manufacturing Week bus.
Anun Anuntagune, a machine operator at Cascade
Designs, trims the edges of one of the company’s
Therm-a-Rest air mattresses. Anuntagune has
worked for the Seattle manufacturer for 26 years,
doing every job and using every machine. What
does he think of his job at this outdoor gear
maker? “I love it,” he said. “It’s easy work. Easy for
me. Maybe not for someone else. Depends on how
you pay attention and understand.”