A region that attracts highly skilled technology workers located within a state that rewards companies that adopt environmental initiatives, were two of the primary reasons Germany-based SolarWorld Group selected Hillsboro, Ore., as the location for its newest manufacturing plant. The facility will produce solar cells and wafers and will be the largest plant of its kind in the nation when it is in full production in 2009.

“There were many reasons to come to Oregon,” said Boris Klebensberger, chief operating officer of SolarWorld Group and president of SolarWorld Industries America. “But the most important factors probably were that the facility itself is perfect for our needs, the state of Oregon supports us with property and business energy tax credits, and we will find highly skilled workers in the area.”

Hillsboro, in the Portland metro, is the home to Intel’s largest chip manufacturing plant and a growing cluster of other high-tech companies. With this high concentration of technology companies nearby, SolarWorld has the necessary talent pool from which to hire future employees.

“Many of the skills that are required in the semiconductor industry are very transferable to manufacturing of solar cells,” said Larry Pederson, director of economic development for the city of Hillsboro. “Also, the state continues to attract young educated professionals simply because it offers the lifestyle they are seeking.”

Additionally, SolarWorld executives were attracted to Oregon because of its Business Energy Tax Credit program and overall business climate that encourages companies to adopt environmental initiatives. Oregon’s Department of Energy offers the tax credits to companies that invest in energy conservation, recycling, renewable energy resources and less-polluting transportation fuels.

SolarWorld will be moving into an existing production facility previously owned by the Japanese Komatsu Group and which sat idle for 10 years. Not only did the building cost a fraction of what it was initially worth, it is located in a newly established enterprise zone, which provides additional tax incentives.

The company will invest about $400 million to convert the semiconductor plant to produce silicon wafer and cells for solar panels. When the plant opens, the company expects to hire several hundred employees, with the potential of 1,000 by the end of 2009 when the plant is in full production.

Another Oregon solar company, PV Powered, was awarded a 2007 Central Oregon Business Development Opportunity Fund grant for its expansion project in Bend.

The lottery-funded Opportunity Fund grant was awarded to PV Powered for purchase of equipment for material handling, automated assembly and packaging, testing and diagnostic equipment by Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO). The grant will allow PV Powered to expand operations and grow to keep up with demand for its photovoltaic systems.

“The solar energy marketplace is global and expanding rapidly,” said Greg Patterson, CEO of PV Powered. “The grant from the Opportunity Fund enables our Central Oregon company to expand so that we can compete effectively in the U.S. and abroad.”

Within the past year, Oregon has emerged as a pioneer in the renewable energy market by attracting solar technology manufacturing companies.

Wood Products Company Builds New Plant

With uncertainty about the future of the wood products industry in the Northwest, the decision to start over again was not an easy one for John Murphy following the fire that destroyed his company’s plywood mill in 2005.

However, through the support and persistence of local, county and state agency officials, Murphy Engineered Wood Products is now building a new modern laminated veneer lumber plant on the site of the former plywood plant in the southern Oregon city of Sutherlin.

“It’s been a long time since a new wood products plant has been built anywhere in the Northwest,” said Murphy, the company's president. “It was a big decision. I couldn’t have even considered rebuilding without the support and encouragement that came from local and state economic development officials. There were simply no hurdles that these folks would not help us tackle.”

Recognizing the importance of the plant to Sutherlin, which has a population of 7,500, officials from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD), the city and Douglas County were on site just days after the fire offering assistance and resources to Murphy. Working together, the agencies helped the company obtain necessary permits, receive much-needed economic incentives and coordinate work force training.

Because the new plant will be located within an enterprise zone, Murphy Engineered Wood Products will receive a tax exemption in return for providing jobs that will pay 150 percent of the county average wage. The company will receive an additional tax exemption through the Oregon Investment Advantage program.

When it opens later this year, the plant will create about 80 new jobs. While this is less than the 300 employed at the former plywood mill, the new jobs will pay significantly higher wages because of the skill levels required at the new highly automated, computer-operated plant.

With these highly skilled jobs comes the need for work force training, which will be partially subsidized through the Governor’s Employer Workforce Training Fund, as well as the Coos Curry Douglas Regional Investment Fund.

A $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund will provide additional site work, relocation of a rail spur, improved vehicle access and additional site preparation work.

It is estimated that the new 215,000 square-foot plant will be, when complete, a $61 million investment.

Sutherlin is located less than two miles off Interstate 5, the state’s major north-south transportation route providing connections to all major population centers on the West Coast. It is a three-hour drive from Portland and an eight-hour drive to both Seattle and San Francisco. The region also is in an excellent position for servicing the entire Pacific Coast from British Columbia, Canada, to Mexico.

PepsiCo Expands in Albany

Oregon’s Certified Industrial Lands Program, coupled with the cooperation and efforts of local and state agencies, helped pave the way for PepsiCo’s decision to locate its newest Gatorade and Propel production plant in Albany. The new plant will be located on a 242-acre parcel of land west of Interstate 5.

The state’s industrial site certification process, which was launched in 2003, provides added certainty to site selectors and businesses that a site will meet its development objectives. Additionally, certification saves time, minimizes risk factors and lowers costs for the companies locating on the land.

In addition to the state’s efforts to certify the land, the city of Albany's water treatment plant, completed in 2005, and current upgrading and expansion of its wastewater treatment plant, made the property especially suited to the PepsiCo development.

The $200 million plant will initially employ 200 to 250 workers with average annual salaries that will be 150 percent of the county’s current average compensation and will include full health insurance benefits.

Construction began earlier this year on a 900,000 square-foot production and container manufacturing facility and is scheduled to open in 2008.

Meanwhile, Climax Portable Machine Tools Inc., a provider of comprehensive, on-site machining solutions for the power generation, shipbuilding, industrial and engineering sectors, is expanding its headquarters facilities in Newberg.

The company broke ground on a 14,000 square foot facility at its headquarters site that will house assembly and rental equipment operations, as well as double its training capacity.

During the past several years, Climax has experienced an annual compound sales growth rate of 22 percent, as worldwide adoption of its products and services has steadily spread. In the past year Climax added 40 new employees in Oregon enabling it to increase its manufacturing and service capabilities.

The newest expansion will enable the company to streamline assembly work flows and shipment of their machine tools that will create a state-of-the-art lean manufacturing operation. The facility also positions Climax as a competitive resource for customers seeking valve repair machines, boring machines, flange facers, lathes and mills and other specialized maintenance and repair solutions in the power generation, shipbuilding, heavy construction, mining, and civil engineering industries, according to the company.

With additional training facilities, the Climax Portable Machining Training Institute will also offer expanded educational programs and hands-on workshops to help its customers offset the threats of a declining work force of skilled machinists. Of particular benefit to Oregon, the expansion will also allow Climax to hire an additional 30 new employees who will engineer and manufacture Climax’s portable machine tools for customers in North American, Asian and European power generation, shipbuilding and heavy construction industries.

“Our customers face growing competition within their industries and run the risk of losing ground by not exploring new tools, technologies, techniques and business practices,” said Geoff Gilmore, president and chief executive officer of Climax. [Our] goal is to help them revolutionize the way their maintenance and repair operations are done by taking the solution on-site.”