Area ports share 2010 highlights

MOSES LAKE - Quincy's explosion of data centers and the Port of

Moses Lake's role in furthering business development were

highlighted Thursday during two talks by port representatives.

MOSES LAKE - Quincy's explosion of data centers and the Port of Moses Lake's role in furthering business development were highlighted Thursday during two talks by port representatives.

Pat Boss, the Port of Quincy's government affairs director, told about 80 people attending the Grant County Economic Development Council's quarterly luncheon about the benefits of a bill allowing a temporary tax break for data centers.

After the bill's passage in March, Dell bought land in Quincy in November to build a data center.

Microsoft and Yahoo! are expanding their current facilities.

"The good news is, they didn't go somewhere else to do their expansion," Boss said of Yahoo!

Yahoo's and Microsoft's work brings construction jobs and full-time work to the area.

Dell and Sabey started the permitting process recently to build their respective data centers in Quincy.

Dell expects to start building in March, according to an environmental check-list filed with the City of Quincy.

The Sabey Intergate data center measures a total of 598,577 square feet.

Phase one of Dell's campus is expected to come to about 350,00 square feet.

The data center market is hot and companies have to make quick decisions, he said.

Boss said the port feels data centers are the first phase preceding other types of businesses, such as research facilities and call centers.

Also this year, the Port of Quincy was named one of three top small market cities in the west for high-tech manufacturing.

According to a cost comparison study, Quincy's benefits  include fiber optics, access to rail and Interstate 90, abundant water and 300 days of sunshine.

He also mentioned Forbes Magazine's recognition of Moses Lake as one of the top 10 fastest growing small towns in the country.

Another Port of Quincy project is the "Cold Train," a refrigerated container rail and distribution service.

Although the port was originally interested in shipping products west, that didn't happen because of the economy.

Some time later, companies were interested in shipping products east.

There's now an express Cold Train that leaves Quincy several times a week for Chicago, bringing Washington produce there.

During the last few months,  between 50 to 100 containers of produce were shipped to Chicago. Produce includes wine grapes, potatoes, apples and pears.

Some companies feel using the Cold Train cuts their carbon footprint.

Craig Baldwin, executive manager of the Port of Moses Lake, explained how there are 10 port districts in Grant County.

He said it's great to work with the other port districts, but at the same time, they are in competition with one another for business.

If a business is better suited to a certain area, the ports back each other to help that business, he explained.

At the Port of Moses Lake, business tenants provide more than 2,500 jobs.

The newest company is SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, who will build carbon fiber material for BMW.

Baldwin said that as a public entity, the port was instrumental in obtaining grant and loan applications to help the company.

SGL uses the wastewater treatment facility at the port.

Another highlight is Fairchild Air Force Base's temporary move to the Grant County International Airport because of work on their runway in February.

It's expected 300 airmen stay in Moses Lake for between 10 to 12 months, with between 16-36 KC-135 aircraft.

Fairchild leases four buildings, measuring a total of about 160,000 square feet.

Another benefit of the Port of Moses Lake is its Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) status.

The current five tenants in the FTZ can import and export products without paying tariffs and fees.

The port was approved to extend the radius of its FTZ by 105 miles, instead of just having the FTZ in port boundaries.