Local News
Washington grape growers inject $875,000 into economy at annual convention
By Andy Perdue This month, wine grape growers from across the state and throughout the Northwest descended on the Tri-Cities for the Washington Winegrowers Association’s annual convention and trade show Feb. 11-14. About 2,000 members of the wine industry were expected at the Three Rivers Convention Center and Toyota Center to attend seminars, learn about…
Gesa to open new Pasco branch, improve Richland headquarters
Road 100 branch to feature 7,000 square feet; $645,000 in improvements planned at headquarters Gesa Credit Union will open its 18th branch this summer in Pasco. Construction on the $2 million project already has begun on the two-acre plot of land at 4824 Broadmoor Blvd. Kennewick-based Banlin Construction is the general contractor for the project.…
Report: State’s farmland value dips over previous year
Farmers National Co. says larger acreage is scarce The average cost-per-acre of Washington farmland dipped slightly this year compared to last year, according to a recent land values report from Farmers National Co. The employee-owned, Omaha-based company is an ag landowner services company managing more than 5,000 farms and ranches in 28 states comprising more…
Commercial building underway near Columbia Park
Ford Group to invest $3.6M on commercial building for up to 7 tenants A small project grew to 10 times its original size when the Ford Group decided to put a 34,000-square-foot building on nearly two acres of open land in Richland. “We just wanted a place to store our boat,” said Greg Ford, owner…
Kennewick commercial construction company changes hands
MH Construction’s new owner isn’t new to company The new owner of a Kennewick construction company is as comfortable working over a profit and loss statement as he is behind the controls of a mini excavator. It’s one of the reasons Alex Linde bought the nine-year-old MH Construction company Jan. 1. Linde, 40, worked for…
Kennewick insurance company moves into bigger office
Basin Pacific Insurance and Benefits’ new building has space for lease Customers of the local Basin Pacific Insurance and Benefits branch won’t find the business at its old location on Gage Boulevard in Kennewick. The company has moved to a new, bigger location at 6917 W. Grandridge Blvd., Unit 1, along one of the major…
PNNL awards $64.2M contract for new research building
Project will use local suppliers, contractors; facility will be between 110,000 to 145,000 square feet A $64.2 million contract has been awarded to a Houston-based partnership to design and build a new energy sciences building at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. Construction could start later this year or in early 2020 on the building…
Q&A with Kimberly L. Harper
Columbia Basin College’s 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award winner Company/business/agency: U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science – Pacific Northwest Site Office/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE-SC/PNNL) Tell us about your team: PNSO is a small staff of 30-plus people. I work with a team of five scientists and engineers. Brief background about your…
Manufacturing jobs on the rise in Benton, Franklin counties
Regional manufacturing jobs to grow 1.84 percent this year Manufacturing jobs in Benton and Franklin counties are expected to grow at a faster rate than the state average as food manufacturing rebounds in 2019. Locally, there are more than 8,100 manufacturing jobs, which accounts for about 7 percent of total nonfarm employment in 2018, according…
Richland company adds new manufacturing plant, robotic automation
Plastic Injection Molding expansion allows for improved capacity, speed A north Richland company is poised for growth with the addition of a new 28,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in the back of its existing building that includes a 4,000-square-foot mezzanine. Plastic Injection Molding Inc. manufactures filter body parts for agricultural irrigation, special parts for medical diagnostic equipment,…
