Washington Business Fall 2019 | Washington Business | Page 16

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Of Note
Harbor Wholesale Foods Begins Major Expansion
L o n g t i m e AW B
member Harbor
Wholesale Foods
has launched a
major expansion.
The Lacey-based company has bought a “significant” portion
of Food Services of America’s Seattle business, the company
reports.
This purchase includes a 250,000 square foot warehouse
in Kent and taking over food service needs for about 1,700
independent restaurant operators located in 10 Western
Washington counties.
“Acquiring FSA’s Kent Distribution Center achieves Harbor’s
goal of becoming the Northwest’s premier foodservice
distributor,” the company announced.
Harbor is a fourth-generation family business which has
distributed products to customers since 1923. The company
currently services more than 3,000 locations throughout
Washington, Oregon, and parts of California, Idaho and Alaska
from distribution centers in Lacey and Roseburg, Oregon.
“We’ve been serving Northwest communities for 96 years
and the FSA Seattle business provides a platform to expand
our presence and positive influence throughout the region,”
Harbor CEO Justin Erickson said in a news release.
Mountain Safety Research Celebrates 50 Years of
Outdoor Innovation
Seattle manufacturer Mountain Safety Research (MSR) is
celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The company was born in 1969 out of pursuit to improve
mountaineering safety and started with a newsletter focused
on that issue. Founder Larry Penberthy quickly realized there
were many opportunities for product safety improvements,
and began manufacturing gear of his own.
Since then, the outdoor equipment manufacturer has
been building high-quality, durable, and industry-leading
equipment in downtown Seattle. It’s one of the brands
owned by Cascade Designs, which received AWB’s 2019
Manufacturing Excellence award for Operational Excellence.
“Our location as a Washington manufacturer has been
critical to our success, from the initial passion that led to
the founding of the company, to access to the mountains for
testing, and availability of top talent,” MSR Vice President
Doug Sanders says. “We would not have been as successful
anywhere else.”
MSR has introduced major technological advancements
for climbing ropes, ice axes, stoves, clothing, (MSR invented
pit zippers), tents, climbing helmets, headlamps, carabiners,
bicycle helmets, water filtration, snowshoes, and more.
PNNL Selected as New Research Site for Grid Security, Reliability
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory as the site of a new research facility that
would focus on the security and resilience of nation’s power
grid, the Tri-City Herald reports.
This would mean millions spent on a new complex at the
lab’s Richland campus, the newspaper reports, and ongoing
work would likely attract additional funding and researchers.
Energy storage is of critical importance to the department,
Director Steven Ashby told the newspaper.
An independent review team picked PNNL for the
facility. The president’s budget request includes $5 million
for planning and design work to get the project started.
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said he will work to
support the project in the budget process.
“Affordable grid energy storage is going to be critical for our nation’s energy future and this new facility will build upon PNNL’s
expertise in this field of research,” Newhouse said.
The Washington Legislature has supported the project too. State Rep. Matt Boehnke and State Sen. Sharon Brown, Republicans
from Kennewick, led efforts to secure $8.3 million to buy equipment.
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