Duckwall Fruit has served Oregon’s Hood River Valley for more than a century, packing and shipping pears and other fruit while developing new markets and weathering pandemic-related disruptions and workforce shortages.
Thanks to its key characteristics – it’s lightweight, insulative and environmentally benign – perlite promises to serve markets that have yet to emerge.
Freres Engineered Wood has translated its expertise in Douglas fir veneer production into a cross laminated timber product composed of many thin layers, a design that provides great strength and rigidity..
The Greenbrier Companies has developed a hatch for covered hopper rail cars that opens and closes automatically, eliminating the need for workers to climb on cars
Boardman Foods created an after-school program for employees in 2004. Then COVID happened, creating a demand for full-day child care. Company officials now run a community day care program at the Port of Morrow.
Southeast Portland-based Bullseye Glass created a process to fuse glass of different colors, allowing for the creation of glass paintings. The company also produces glass for historical restoration, including the windows in the U.S. Capitol cupola.
Salem-based International Housing Concepts produces tiny homes for a range of markets while providing job opportunities for the homeless and for people re-entering the workforce.
Georgia Pacific’s Juno facility, in Toledo, separates paper fiber from about 70,000 tons of household trash every year and uses it to make cardboard used in corrugated boxes.
Hillsboro-based Planar manufactures video display systems and is the global market leader for LED video displays, narrow pixel pitch LED and the indoor LED video wall market.
Portland manufacturer Looptworks uses material headed for landfills to produce bags, apparel and other upcycled merchandise.