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Ballard Foundry Moving to Georgetown
Ballard Brass and Aluminum
will move to Georgetown
this summer after securing a long-term lease for a building where the
company will be able to double in size.
The company has been owned since 2001 by Mark and Steve Morel, who trace
their business roots to the Morel Foundry founded by their grandfather,
Leon Morel Sr., in West Seattle in 1917.
The foundry was subsequently run by their father, Leon Morel Jr.
The Morels have doubled sales at the Ballard foundry while developing
prototype equipment and parts for customers ranging from John Deere
tractors, to Seattle-based fishing boats, to "green" electrical
generators. The new Georgetown
facility will enable the Morels to create production lines in addition to
prototypes work cells.
The move from Ballard was prompted by concerns about rising rents in north Seattle. The company
considered locations outside Seattle
before opting to stay in the city based on proximity to customers,
suppliers and employees. Go
to SI Online to learn more about the foundry.
The move comes in the wake of new
city efforts to help companies like Ballard Brass
stay in the city, including new zoning regulations and the Seattle First
business retention program. For more information about these programs, call
the Manufacturing Industrial Council (MIC) at 206-762-2470.
Downtown Truck Routes
The Alaskan Way Viaduct
stakeholder group received a briefing on freight routes being considered as
part of the plan to remove the Alaskan Way Viaduct in favor of a surface
option. Fourth and Second Avenues in downtown Seattle would become major truck routes,
according to the conceptual plans presented last week. Large trucks are
presently banned from downtown during daytime business hours.
These ideas will be discussed at a special meeting of the Seattle Freight
Mobility Advisory Committee that is being scheduled for the end of March.
Stay tuned.
KCTS Highlights Industry
KCTS (Channel 9) will
focus on Seattle
manufacturing during the Tuesday, March 12 broadcast of "About the
Money with Christine Chen." The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Interviews
were conducted with Dave Moeller
of Moeller Design, Johnny Bianchi
of B&G Machine and Dave
Gering with the MIC.
April 10 Forum on SODO Transportation Construction
A community forum will
be held at the Diamond Club of Safeco Field on Thursday, April 10, starting
at 8:30 am to discuss a series of major transportation construction
projects that will get underway this spring. The forum will include
presentations about completion of SR 519 adjacent to the sports stadiums
and the repaving of 1st Avenue
South, which is scheduled to begin this
spring. City staff will be on-hand to discuss coordination of additional
projects including construction of new ramps connecting 4th Avenue South to the Spokane
Street Viaduct, major repairs to the south end of the Alaskan Way Viaduct
and repaving of Lander Street.
The forum will feature presentations and Q&A sessions with project
managers from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and
the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). The forum is sponsored by
the Duwamish Transportation Management Association and the event is open to
all. RSVP by calling 206-762-2470.
Shoreline Master Plan Workshops
You're invited to help
shape a vision for the future of Seattle's
Shoreline. The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is hosting seven Community workshops throughout the city
in March. Link
here for more information.
Lean and Green
Washington Manufacturing
Services and the Washington State Department of Ecology will be holding a
video teleconference statewide on March 25th to discuss new approaches to
cost and waste reduction that improve a company's bottom line while
reducing toxic emissions at the same time. For more information on the
seminar click
here
Or
visit their website at http://www.wamfg.org/.
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