The leader of a Vancouver company that provides technology and equipment for the solar energy market has purchased property in the Port of Camas-Washougal’s industrial park, filling space left empty by another high-tech company and raising hopes for new jobs.
Gary Phillips, president of Silicon Chemical Corp., secured the deal for land and manufacturing and research facilities in Washougal on Oct. 25, paying about $1.5 million and taking ownership under the limited liability company Columbia Manufacturing and Technology Center, according to Clark County property records. Phillips could not be reached for comment this week.
However, a website for Columbia Manufacturing and Technology Center said the center encompasses about 100,000 square feet of manufacturing, research and development space “within multiple buildings” on about 10 acres. Current tenants of the center include Silicon Chemical Corp., SCC Solar Energy Group — an affiliate of Silicon Chemical — and Quantum Clean Corp., according to the website.
‘Thrilled’ with deal
Scot Walstra, director of planning and development for the Port of Camas-Washougal, said the port is “thrilled to see a new company” invest in facilities and jobs. He said Silicon Chemical’s focus on the solar-energy market “certainly seems to be in line with the new green-collar economy.” Walstra said the port is aware of the deal but has limited information about it. That’s because although the property is in the port’s industrial park, it’s under private ownership.
Walstra said Silicon Chemical wasn’t specific about “how many jobs they saw on the site.” However, the site is “certainly scalable as the market expands,” Walstra said. He added that the company may need to retrofit some of the facilities to match its needs and that the port is prepared to support such efforts. The company is “quite pleased with the amount of infrastructure that’s there,” Walstra said, and the site has “a lot of power and water capacity.”
The site’s new ownership has occurred more than a year after it saw another company close down with 58 jobs lost. In June 2009, Saint-Gobain Crystals, a division of Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics Inc. — a subsidiary of Paris-based Campagnie de Saint-Gobain — announced it was shuttering its operations. Saint-Gobain Crystals produced sapphire substrates for the LED, or light-emitting diode, industry.
The website for the new owner — Columbia Manufacturing and Technology Center — explains the site’s features and benefits, including “specialized laboratory, service shop, and clean room space” and “no state or local, corporate or personal income taxes” — and it invites questions about available space.
Silicon Chemical Corp. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Vancouver, according to the company’s website. It develops silicon chemical materials for the microelectronics, solar, optical fiber, fume silica and related industries. The website for the company’s affiliate — SCC Solar Energy Group — describes SCC Solar as a “local partner for solar energy” with “intimate knowledge of fundamental photovoltaic technologies.” It also says the company has experience with large and small construction projects.
