Tri-Cities Tech Business Update

September 2008 Issue

News

• AREVA signs $200 million contract to supply fuel assemblies
  AREVA, a Richland, Wash.-based company, signed a $200 million contract with Taiwan Power Company to supply boiling-water reactor fuel assemblies for two units in each of two nuclear power plants in Taiwan. more...
• Technology in ethanol refinery got start in Richland
  A $120 million ethanol refinery being built in Reno, Nev., is based on technology developed in the Tri-Cities, Wash. more...
• *InnovaTek lands funding for a biomass power plant
  The Department of Energy awarded a $100,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research contract to InnovaTek, Richland, Wash., to develop a non-food, biomass-based power plant that will use InnovaTek's proprietary steam-reforming technology and catalysts with a solid-oxide fuel cell to generate distributed power in the range from three to 30 kilowatts. more...
• *Medical isotope funding
  XL Sci-Tech, Richland, Wash., received a $140,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health that will fund research to develop nanoscale medical isotopes for various cancer cells, or "molecular targeting." Contact Ben Peng at (509) 375-0884. more...
• Wireless mesh network earns national recognition
  A high-tech network designed and implemented by Lockheed Martin's Richland, Wash., team won first place in Special Enforcement Category for the Best Technology Uses in Law Enforcement in the United States. more...
• Local company provides medical isotopes to Kadlec Medical Center
  Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation , Kennewick, Wash, delivered its first shipment of short-lived medical isotopes to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland, Wash. more...
• ETG Inc. sells hands-on training products
  Educational Technologies Group, Inc., a Kennewick, Wash.-based company, has sold its Marcraft-brand mobile electronics trainers to the Indiana Department of Corrections. more...
• Executive promotions at Vista Leak Detection, Inc.
  Vista Leak Detection, Inc., of Kennewick, Wash., recently promoted Douglas W. Mann to president and William W. more...
• Washington State ranks No. 3 for business
  In Forbes' annual ranking of the Best States for Business released last month, Washington ranked third in the category "best state to do business," moving up from fifth place in last year's survey. more...
• Tri-Cities ranks second in economic development assets
  A key economic development ranking lists the Tri-Cities as having the second highest concentration of employment in research, testing, and medical laboratories among medium-sized areas throughout the country. more...

Tri-Cities Research District

• Battelle donation put to work
  The first phase of the $100,000 donation from Battelle to the Tri-Cities Research District is being used to attract technology-based businesses and researchers to the area, which could mean significant growth to the Tri-Cities. more...

Opportunities and Tools

• Research funding grants
  Washington technology businesses looking to partner with a university or nonprofit researcher on innovative technology projects are invited to apply for a funding award through the Washington Technology Center's Research & Technology Development Awards program . more...
• *Styrofoam packing peanuts requested for SIGN
  The Richland, Wash.-based Surgical Implant Generation Network is asking for donations of StyrofoamTM peanuts used to pack items for shipment. more...
• Alumni update available now
  The summer issue of the Tri-City Alumni Update newsletter is now available on line. It focuses on recreational and arts opportunities and includes a profile of former Tri-Citian Travis Senger, now a film and video producer. more...
• TRIDEC building for sale
  The Tri-City Development Council's current office building is available for purchase. The building is located in Kennewick, Wash., near Columbia Center Mall as well as Lowe's® and Target. more...

Coming Up

• Change Management and Control Imperative
  SEPTEMBER 16. REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 10. The Columbia Basin chapter of the American Society for Quality's September meeting will feature leadership and organizational development expert Joe Estey presenting "Change Management and the Control Imperative." Estey will share how successful, internationally recognized quality-focused organizations use transition as a process for improvement, rather than an obstacle to performance. more...
• Seminars for Small Businesses
  The Columbia Basin College Institute for Professional Development offers the following workshops in September, from 6 to 9 pm. more...
• SmartMap Expo
  SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 2. The Tri-City Development Council's 6th Annual SmartMap Expo, a large manufacturing networking event, will be held September 30 through October 2 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, Wash. more...
• Power of Angel Investing Seminar
  SEPTEMBER 26. REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 15. Delta Angel Group, in partnership with Connect Northwest and Gonzaga University's Hogan Program, will host an all-day seminar for accredited investors. more...

Mark Your Calendar

• Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium
  OCTOBER 15-16. DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION BY SEPTEMBER 30. The 2008 Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium will be held October 15-16 in Pasco, Wash. more...
• Small Business Innovation Research conference
  OCTOBER 28-29. The 2008 Idaho Regional Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Conference will teach small businesses how to apply for and write grant proposals that can lead to millions of dollars in federal grants. more...
• Learn About Web conference
  NOVEMBER 7. The first annual "Learn About Web" conference is scheduled for November 7 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, Wash. more...

Got News?

We invite your contributions! We will consider items that fit the mission of this publication, including your tech-related news, awards, and notices of upcoming events. Please send text and photos to Andrea McMakin or call (509) 372-6013.

Tri-Cities Tech Business Update is published by the Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Each month, we send you an e-mail message, giving you the link of news, tips, awards, upcoming events, and other information about local technology-based businesses and organizations that support them. With business and community partners, our goal is to build and diversify the Tri-Cities economy—adding skilled jobs in primary-sector industries that bring in outside dollars. Currently, more than 1,100 tech-related businesses, investors, and economic development stakeholders subscribe to the newsletter, mostly in the Mid-Columbia area and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. This newsletter (RL-P00-009) supports PNSO's vision for the future of the Hanford Site and surrounding area through the creation of research opportunities, new industries, and new business clusters.