Ports of Moses Lake, Seattle continue talks
Port of Moses Lake Executive Manager Craig Baldwin listens during a roundtable discussion. Commissioners from both the Port of Moses Lake and Port of Seattle attended the meeting.
Lon Topaz, of REC Silicon, gave a presentation about the company to commissioners from the Port of Moses Lake and Port of Seattle.
MOSES LAKE - Commissioners representing the ports of Moses Lake and Seattle continued talks this week about cooperative economic development efforts in the future.
"I think what was reinforced by meeting together, is that we have some common ground areas," said Port of Seattle Managing Director Linda Styrk, on Thursday.
They are looking at intermodal capacity in the state and a marketing partnership where they can compliment each other.
The intent for both ports to keep cooperating is there, she said. No future meetings have been set, but she would be surprised if a meeting wasn't scheduled at some point.
The Port of Seattle has a maritime facility and Moses Lake offers land and competitive power.
Between those two interests, maybe both ports can team up and land a business in Moses Lake, she explained.
SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers in Moses Lake is importing containers as part of their raw materials and will export.
The likelihood the company's products are coming through the Port of Seattle is very high and they could very well go though the Port of Tacoma too.
"We can really have a complimentary partnership there," she commented.
Another possibility is for the ports of Moses Lake and Seattle to combine efforts to handle air cargo, but the details still need to be worked out.
During their last meeting in Seattle in February, the two commissions talked about areas they could work together on, said Port of Moses Lake Executive Manager Craig Baldwin.
The areas include rail, import/export and a joint marketing program to assist them in the Chinese market of elsewhere.
Together they can go forward, possibly with funding requests in Washington, D.C., he explained
The Port of Moses Lake is on the radar in Washington, D.C., because of its Foreign Trade Zone growth.
The port as an exciting story to tell and "we enjoy telling it," Baldwin said.
Port of Moses Lake Commissioner Mike Conley said the port is still quite a ways from break-even for the Foreign Trade Zone, as it is not a port of entry. The Port of Moses Lake pays about $140,000 annually to subsidize its Foreign Trade Zone.
Baldwin said SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers was looking for renewable energy.
Location was another factor for the company, as without the Port of Seattle, SGL wouldn't be able to export their product.
Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani said there will be plenty of opportunities for joint marketing with the two ports.
Lon Topaz, of REC Silicon, gave a presentation about the Moses Lake company's past and present.
REC Silicon ships product to China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Norway, with 90 percent of production going offshore.
The company ships silane gas and modules through the Port of Seattle.
Earlier in the day, Seattle port commissioners and staff visited the Port of Quincy.
Port of Quincy Commissioner Patric Connelly said he thought their visit went well.
The Seattle group was taken to the port's intermodal yard and also saw the data centers and different businesses in Quincy.
"That was their main focus, for them to see what was here," Connelly said. "That was the extent of it. Hopefully we can do something in the future. It would have to do something with rail."
Connelly said he thought the Port of Seattle was looking at how they can improve their business.
"I think partnering with inland ports is something they're really pushing, whether it's with us or Moses Lake," Connelly said.