GeoDesign expands
Geotechnical engineering and environmental consulting firm GeoDesign has opened a new office in Seattle. The new location will be the fourth for the 10-year-old company, which also operates in Portland, Ore., Vancouver, Wash., and Anaheim, Calif.
In addition to consulting, the firm also manufactures specialized equipment for the environmental industry. GeoDesign’s drilled shaft inspection camera recently served planners and engineers on projects such as the Portland Aerial Tram and Sauvie Island Bridge replacement. Other GeoDesign projects include the 130-acre Columbia Tech Center in Vancouver and Bellevue Towers, a LEED-certified residential development in Bellevue, Wash.
Industry brand survey entries sought
Builders, developers and architects in 10 Western states are invited to choose their brand preferences through Buildernews magazine’s annual brand survey.
Magazine officials say the survey helps the industry better understand its product.
The study will highlight respondents’ opinions on over 300 brands, representing nearly 250 manufacturers in 45 product categories. Results will be published in the July 2007 issue of the magazine.
The entry form can be found in the print magazine or at bnmag.com.
SWWDC leader takes on another role
Jerry Petrick, the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council’s business and industries group manager, has added another title: director of business expansion for the Columbia River Economic Development Council. Petrick will continue his work at the SWWDC.
For the past several years, Petrick has worked closely with CREDC staff in the area of business retention and expansion.
"We see an opportunity to expand the business outreach efforts of both organizations through this integration," said CREDC Executive Director Bart Phillips in a statement. Petrick will connect businesses with local governments, the Washington Manufacturing Service, the Washington Technology Center, the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, WorkSource, Clark College, the Clark County Skills Center and others.
A similar arrangement of staff integration has been discussed with the Cowlitz Economic Development Council as well.
Realvest president joins Skills Center Foundation
David N. Fuhrer, president and CFO of Vancouver-based property management company Realvest Corp., is the newest addition to the Clark County Skills Center Foundation. Fuhrer has lived in Vancouver for 21 years. He graduated from Portland State University in 1981 and became a certified public accountant in 1983. Fuhrer began working at Realvest in 1988 as a controller and was promoted to CFO in 1995 then president in 2005.
Fuhrer also is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Oregon Society of CPAs and the Financial Executives Institute and has served as a board member of the YMCA of Clark County.
SWMC family medicine on the move
Family Medicine of Southwest Washington Medical Center has moved its services to the Memorial Health Center campus and began seeing patients on Feb. 13. Southwest’s family practice residency and clinic is academically affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine, and serves about 39,000 patients each year.
Family Medicine Southwest Washington, now at 100 E. 33rd St., Suite 100, is a full-service family practice and training program for family practice residents.
Wells Fargo Financial opens new store in Clark County
Wells Fargo Financial has opened a new store at 19005 S.E. 34th St., Suite 100, in Vancouver.
A unit of Wells Fargo & Co., Wells Fargo Financial provides real estate-secured lending, automobile financing, consumer and private-label credit cards and commercial services to consumers and businesses.
The Vancouver site is the company’s second consumer finance store in Southwest Washington. The company picked this site for its newest location because the population on the east side of Vancouver is growing, said District Manager Bill Irwin
The new store is located directly across the street from a Wells Fargo banking store.
Wells Fargo employs 700 in Clark County, a 31-percent increase over the previous year.
