A former Navy housing subdivision at Paine Field will become the new home for Korry Electronics, an avionics and controls division of Esterline Technologies in Bellevue.
A Mar. 27 news release by Snohomish County government announced that Korry will bring more than 600 jobs to the county when it opens its new facility in early 2009. Its presence will further enhance the county’s growing reputation as a leader in aeronautical design and manufacturing expertise.
Korry’s expertise in optics, electronics and software, mechanical packaging, mechanism design and more helped it secure a Boeing contract in 2005 to produce overhead cockpit control panels for the 787. The company comprises three business units: engineered components; display and panels; and control systems.
“In a time of growing national concern about the economy, this move is further proof that Snohomish County’s economic competitiveness will help us weather the storm,” County Executive Aaron Reardon said. “This highlights for other companies that we’re ready to compete for their jobs.”
Under the agreement, Capstone Partners will lease 14 acres of land for 55 years at an initial annual rate of $288,672. Capstone will begin construction of a 250,000-square-foot building in August that will be leased back Korry Electronics.
“We’re proud to be a part of the growing aerospace community in Snohomish County, and appreciate all the cooperation we’ve received,” said Korry’s president, Dan McFeeley.
County officials worked with the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Snohomish County to broker the deal between Korry and its parent company Esterline.
“We are excited about Korry’s move to Paine Field. Their products serve both the commercial and defense markets, which will help to strengthen local economic cycles,” says Deborah Knutson, EDC president. “Additionally, the income they bring to the community will benefit many existing businesses.”
Korry’s parent company, Esterline, is an international firm that makes aerospace and defense products in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. It has annual sales of more than $1 billion.
The land that Korry will occupy is the site of a phased-out military housing complex called Fairmount Park Housing, which the county acquired in 1996 for future airport use. Navy families lived there in about 70 houses and duplexes built in 1954 new Navy housing was built in the Smoky Point neighborhood of Arlington in 2001. From then until the present, the county has offered the units as temporary market-rate housing through a lease with the Housing Authority of Snohomish County (HASCO). HASCO recommended the closure of Fairmount Park Housing due to the age of the houses and increasing difficulty in maintaining them.
Korry officials say they plan to invest not only in a new facility but also in the community, continuing a lengthy history of business stewardship expected of companies in Snohomish County.
“We know that Korry will be a great corporate citizen,” Knutson says. “We’re excited about their future here and what we know they will accomplish.”
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