A new printed circuit board design center is now fully operational at Columbia Tech Center in Vancouver. Stilwell Baker Inc. moved its design center to Vancouver, prompted by a growing demand for its services and lower leasing rates.
The company, which is privately held by Barbara Stilwell Baker and Darrel Baker, doubled its customer base in the last two years and had about 30 percent year-over-year growth in 2007. It continues to grow as more companies outsource printed circuit board design and engineering, said Vice President Joe Zaccari.
"We see more and more companies looking to outsource the work that we do," he said.
The company has provided electronic engineering services to the semiconductor, consumer, wireless and military industries to clients primarily in the western United States but as far away as Germany since 1993. It opened in Vancouver in July.
With 14 employees in Vancouver, nine in Tualatin and two in San Diego, Zaccari said quick turnaround times also have helped expand the customer base.
"A lot of competitors are smaller than we are," he said. "In the industry, needing it yesterday is the normal course of events."
Stilwell Baker is one of the largest design centers on the West Coast, said President Darrel Baker. Most have six to eight people.
At just less than 4,000 square feet, the Vancouver facility is now SBI's primary design site for manufacturing and component engineering. The rest of SBI's operations will continue at its Tualatin headquarters, where it has existed for about eight years.
Establishing a presence in Vancouver was important to the company's leaders, as Washington is home to several of the company's largest customers, which SBI declined to name.
Also important to Baker were Washington tax advantages, which likely will benefit the Vancouver employees.
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
