Fuji Chemical Subsidiary Announces New Biotech Facility in Moses Lake

Fuji Chemical Industry President Mitsunori Nishida met with Governor Jay Inslee in July to discuss the Moses Lake project.

AstaReal, the manufacturing subsidiary of Japanese pharmaceutical company Fuji Chemical Industry, recently announced it will build a manufacturing plant in Moses Lake to produce natural astaxanthin, a microalgae-based anti-inflammatory agent.

Grant County's abundant water resources and competitive energy costs were major reasons Fuji Chemical decided to build the plant in Moses Lake, according to the company's press release. A skilled labor force, an open culture welcoming to Japanese companies and supportive local government were also factors in the company's decision.

Fuji Chemical President and CEO Mitsunori Nishida said "We are honored to be a community member of Grant County and the City of Moses Lake. We believe that this community will experience significant growth and want to contribute to this future development. This $30 million investment shows our strong commitment to the future of this community."

The company anticipated that the facility will be completed by the fall of 2014 and will employ approximately 45 skilled employees.

The Lawn is In

Installed by Tatum Lawn Care 509-762-6771. Bob Tatum, his main man Doug and crew did a beautiful job turning a rough-graded and rock-strewn construction site into a velvet lawn.

THAT's how you make a house a home.

Moses Lake SGL Plant Provides Raw Material for New BMW i3 Body

This from iFiber One News www.ifiberone.com/news
Posted: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 9:27 am | Updated: 9:32 am, Wed Jul 31, 2013.

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Courtesy photo/BMW

The BMW i3                

MOSES LAKE – The 2014 BMW i3 electric car, built with carbon fiber produced in Moses Lake and hydro-electric power from the Columbia River, was unveiled simultaneously Monday during New York, London and Beijing events.

  The carbon fiber-reinforced plastic is produced in a manufacturing plant at 8782 Randolph Road Northeast.

  The Moses Lake facility, a joint venture of German-based companies SGL Automotive Group and BMW, produces the carbon fiber for BMW's new line of lighter, more energy efficient electric cars.

It is the auto industry's first mass produced carbon fiber-reinforced plastic car body mounted on an aluminum chassis, BMW representatives said.

The 60-acre Moses Lake SGL facility employs about 50 and includes a 110,308-square-foot process building and a 46,781-square-foot office/warehouse building. It could grow by another 60 acres to accommodate six buildings and 12 production lines over the next five years, SGL representatives said.

The plant was built in 2010 at a cost of about $100 million.

The Moses Lake factory produces spools of carbon fiber composites that are shipped to Germany.

The plug-in BMW i3 is selling in the U.S. for $41,350, before federal or state incentives that could bring the price to as low as $28,775.

The car's 170 horsepower and 184 pound-foot of torque hybrid-synchronous electric motor, developed and produced by BMW, is electrified by a 22-kWh lithium-ion battery, good for 80-100 miles.

Family Time

Q and her friend Travis came out and spent four days trimming and tying up vines, punctuated by regular dips in the lake, trips to town for shave ice, and sunset dinners on the patio. They put in some good work in near-100 degree temps. She's off to college this fall, so great to have some solid time together.

Grapes are looking good. Had an attack of leafhoppers this summer. I could have sprayed and knocked them out, but decided to go the less-invasive route and place 10,000 lacewing eggs (mounted on cardboard tabs) throughout the vineyard. The lacewing larvae feed on leafhopper eggs. The leafhoppers have done some damage and for a while the issue was in doubt, but it looks like the good guys are winning the battle.

The lawn was hydroseeded last week and is coming in nicely. I'll post updated photos shortly.

The Man, The Legend, The Builder

Bruce Preston, here with his son Joe. If you are building in Grant County, don't even think about using someone else. I could go on at length about Bruce's talents and the quality and value he has incoporated into this house, but I will limit myself to this: He is honest, and he is a master builder in every sense of the word. www.bruceprestonhomes.com

Genie Industries Ramping Up

Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin Herald

Glenn Gere, of Genie Industries, updates business and community leaders about the company's Moses Lake operations Thursday during a luncheon at Big Bend Community College's ATEC Center.

 

By Tiffany Sukola, Herald staff writer

Columbia Basin Herald 

 

MOSES LAKE - Although unfavorable market conditions a few years back forced layoffs at Genie Industries, a steady increase in demand for Genie products brought those jobs back.

 Glenn Gere, director of operations for Genie's Moses Lake facility, said the plant has seen significant growth over the last few years. Gere spoke at a Grant County Economic Development Council luncheon at Big Bend Community College Thursday.

 In 2007, Genie employed about 1,000 Basin residents, Gere said. The economic downturn then caused many of Genie's customers to rethink their purchasing, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald article. As a result of reduced production, the plant began laying off employees and reducing company executives' salaries in 2009.

"We went into that economic situation and went down to 200 team members," said Gere. "We were all trying to survive at that time."

He said business began to recover in late 2009. "Almost immediately after we let the last group go, orders started coming in," he said.

In 2010, Genie brought back the first group of employees that were laid off, Gere said.

"We've been on the steady incline since then," he said. "We've had a rapid growth back to about 1,200 team members in a very short period of time."

In 2007, the plant produced about 30 machines each day, Gere said. Employees currently crank out 38 machines a day, he said.

"That's 60 percent of our capacity right now," Gere said. He expects production to continue to increase over the next few years.

Genie currently occupies a 500,000 square-foot building at the Port of Moses Lake. Gere said the plant manufactures about 16 different models of machines.

The facility contains different assembly areas for various product lines, he said. One of those areas will soon handle production of Genie's new Sx-180 boom lift.

Genie recently introduced the SX-180 lift at a trade show in Munich, Germany, said Gere. At 180 feet, it is the world's tallest self-propelled boom lift, he said.

"We already have orders for 200 to 300 of them and we haven't even built the first one," said Gere. "People can't wait to get their hands on them."

Gere said Genie recently invested in a new paint system which will allow employees to keep up with the anticipated demand. He also said Genie plans to lease another building from the port to house the company's product development team. Genie plans to build a new structure on site within the next few years and bring the development team back to that building.The goal is increase manufacturing space inside Genie's current building, he said.

"There's a lot of growth going on," Gere said.

Painting Finally Completed

...after spending the winter half finished.

We love the red and the white trim. The greige accent is OK. I would like to have kept the upper story white, but the upper trim disappears so we went with the third color and matched it on the shop. With a little online help from Vancouver, BC color consultant Maria Killam http://www.mariakillam.com/.

As you can see I've put in a rock retaining wall out back, which separates the lawn & living area from the vineyard. I've got a John Deer 3005 (27 horse) tractor and man is that a great little machine! Really showed it's stuff moving those boulders around.

Next step is getting the lawn in, and that will pretty much finish it.