Celebration is in the air!
We had the pleasure of kicking off the holiday season at the Portland Business Journal’s Oregon Manufacturing Awards. 2015’s awards were held on Thursday, October 30th; during breakfast OMEP shared a table with clients FEI and Premier Press at the Sentinel Hotel.
Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle discussed his growing company with Portland Business Journal Editor Craig Wessel. Mr. Boyle gave some background on his role at Columbia Sportswear, their production methods, and how they’ve brought their brand back to its roots. “When we focus on making the best product possible, that’s when we do best. We got off track for awhile, but we’re back now.”
Columbia Sportswear has been growing steadily since 2014. With a 14 percent increase in quarterly sales, Columbia Sportswear brought in a record $767.6 million. This is ahead of Wall Street’s $738.7 million projection. Quarterly sales continue to smash records.
On to the awards!
Premier Press won Manufacturer of the Year Award in the mid sized company category. Congratulations to the talented folks there! Premier Press has been an OMEP client for several years and has worked very hard and intelligently to achieve phenomenal growth. They have transitioned to a new 350,000 square foot warehouse space on Swan Island to accommodate their rapid growth. Makers of commercial printing products, Premier Press has invested in a continuous improvement program that has made a large difference in their effectiveness and profitability. You can read more about our work with Premier Press here.
Manufacturer of the Year award in the large employer category (over 500 employees) was FEI Company. This Hillsboro based manufacturer produces world renowned electron microscopes that enable research on breakthroughs such as the “god particle” and a myriad of significant scientific studies. They have a worldwide presence as an advanced innovator, and will continue to produce cutting edge products, with a steady 20% growth rate. You can read more about FEI and other winners here.
Paola Castaldo, OMEP consultant, has worked tirelessly with both of these clients to forge lasting results. This is the fourth year in a row that long term OMEP clients have won. I’m certain that continued focus on innovative process and product implementation will result in OMEP clients continuing to win in the future.
You can see photos of the event here.
Other award finalists and recipients included:
Beaverton Foods
D.R. Johnson Lumber
Energy Storage Systems
Evo, Inc.
Indow
Microchip Technology Inc.
Pratt & Larson Ceramics
RapidMade
Shwood
Townshend’s Tea Co.
Valliscor
