Greater Spokane Inc. won $150,000 in economic development strategic reserve funds to help growing precision fabricator choose Washington for new facility, advanced workforce training
OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington Department of Commerce provided a $150,000 grant from the state’s economic development strategic reserve fund to Greater Spokane Inc. (GSI) to support the relocation of Precision Cutting Technologies (PCT) and 45 skilled jobs in Liberty Lake, Wash.
The company was considering locations including northern Idaho to meet its need to double square footage. The company invested $4 million in a new 80,000-square-foot facility that became fully operational in November 2018. State funds enabled GSI, the local non-profit economic development organization, to reimburse the company for $100,000 in allowable relocation costs and provide a $50,000 Work Start grant to assist advanced training for 20 current employees and 25 new workers.
“Washington is committed to keeping machine shops and supplier networks for medical, electronic, aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries strong and globally competitive,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “Supporting good jobs and training opportunities for our skilled trades workforce strengthens communities throughout the state.”
The median annual salary for employees of Precision Cutting Technologies is $90,000 plus benefits.
“PCT has grown exponentially in the past 20 years, and the strength of our company is the employees,” said owner Clint Grassel. “With the recent acquisition of L&M Precision Fabrication and our new facility in Liberty Lake, our vision is to continue growing as a precision fabricator of metals as well as non-metals, such as rubber, fiberglass and plastic. We want to thank GSI for its ongoing support of our growth in this community from 2005 to today. They have connected us to cost-saving programs that have allowed us to expand more quickly than we may have otherwise.”
“We are proud to have Precision Cutting Technologies in the Spokane region,” said Todd Mielke, CEO, Greater Spokane Inc..“Precision offers a host of manufacturing solutions that support other companies in the area and continues to create employment opportunities in the region. We greatly appreciate the continued support of the Washington Department of Commerce and Governor Inslee for providing tools such as the economic development strategic reserve fund that helps us retain and grow jobs within our community and across the state.”
“We are very excited to welcome Precision Cutting Technologies’ rapidly growing manufacturing operation into Liberty Lake’s thriving business community, and we look forward to working with the company as they continue to grow and expand,” said Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson.
The Spokane area is the fifth-largest aerospace cluster in the United States, with over 120 companies, including Precision Cutting Technologies, supporting aerospace and other key industry sector employers throughout the world.
Contacts:
Penny Thomas, Commerce Communications, (206) 256-6106