Tri-Cities Monthly Focus - Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Statewide cherry production up 31 percent

Washington sweet cherry farmers reported a good crop this year thanks to a moderate spring with warm temperatures. The state’s sweet cherry production is forecast at 255,000 tons of sweet cherries this year, compared to 195,000 tons last year, or a 31 percent increase, according to recent data released by National Agricultural Statistics Service. In […]

Juan Murillo stands with two wheels recently spray-painted at American Wheel Specialist in Kennewick. The company, which opened 15 years ago, recently acquired a Richland powder-coating business.

Kennewick company finds success in crafting specialty wheels, rims

1 week ago by Jeffrey Morrow

Juan Murillo said business was slow at American Wheel Specialist on a recent Wednesday. But within the span of five minutes, two men in an old Army truck pulled up to the front door of the plant at 1010 East Bruneau Ave. in Kennewick looking for help on a wheel for the truck. While Murillo […]

Food processing jobs lead local manufacturing boon

1 week ago by Guest Contributor

By Robin Wojtanik The Tri-Cities has seen the creation of thousands of new jobs in manufacturing, despite a loss of manufacturing jobs across the state. Jobs in food processing led the way for the region, with gains in non-durable manufacturing up 2.9 percent between March 2016 and March 2017, which translates to about 2,400 new […]

An automated system at Columbia Basin Ice in Kennewick puffs a jet of air into the bags to open them up before the machine drops the pre-measured ice into a bag. It’s then sealed and sent along a conveyor belt to be stacked onto a pallet.

Ice makers expect to manufacture nine million bags of ice this year

1 week ago by Kristina Lord

Kennewick’s Columbia Basin Ice anticipates $7M in sales for 2017 Tri-Citians reaching into big store coolers to grab a bag of ice on their way to a picnic, party or boat this summer most likely will be chilling their food and drinks with ice manufactured by a growing Kennewick company. Columbia Basin Ice’s 15,000-square-foot manufacturing […]

The Bogert Group in Pasco, a company with four separate manufacturing arms, reported success after participating in the business consulting and online education portions of the Make It In Washington, a program providing rural manufacturers with a range of consulting services and educational subsidies to train employees in key functions to make their businesses operate more efficiently. (Courtesy The Bogert Group)

Tri-City businesses succeeding at Making It In Washington program

1 week ago by Guest Contributor

By Michelle Dupler When your job is to make the best hydraulic jack you can, also understanding how to reach customers on Facebook might be outside your toolbox. But for manufacturing businesses in Washington state, help is available through a program that aims to help small and medium-sized manufacturers to change, grow and prosper with […]

Miramac Metals signed a two-year lease with the Port of Pasco last May for one of its warehouses in the Big Pasco Industrial Center, located off Ainsworth Avenue along the Columbia River. Demand for products is prompting the steel roofing manufacturer to plan for an expansion.

Miramac Metals eyes expansion of Pasco manufacturing plant

1 week ago by Guest Contributor

By Laura Kostad Miramac Metals Inc. opened a new manufacturing facility a year ago in Pasco and is already considering a future expansion. The Mead-based company supplies a diverse offering of customized steel products, including corrugated, ribbed and snap-lock panel profiles, to commercial and residential customers in the rapidly growing Tri-City region. Miramac signed a […]

Manufacturing and Agriculture