MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR SMALL SILVER AWARDS Pro CNC, Bellingham Pro CNC got its start in 1997 when three Western Washington University graduates coming out of that Vehicle Research Institute decided they wanted to design and build the next generation of energy-efficient car. To do that, they reasoned, they first needed a machine shop to make components for the car and to bring in a little business on the side to keep the venture going. The dream car is sill on hold, but in the meantime, what Darcy Hughes, Paul Van Metre and Kelsey Heikoop have built is a 60-employee, $7.5 million-a-year machine shop, with specialties in production for the aerospace and electronics industries. The company has averaged annual growth of nearly 20 percent for the past three years. In addition to products it builds for others, Pro CNC has spun out a few of its own such as ProShop, software for managing a machine shop, which sold to other machine shops. also partnered with another Bellingham company, Theo Wanne, to make high-end saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces. Cascade Designs, Seattle Sage Manufacturing President Travis Campbell, left, with IT/ Operations Director Larry Barrett. Sage Manufacturing Corporation Bainbridge Island Can you make a name for yourself as a small company in the vast world of fishing gear? You can if Sage Manufacturing, a star in the world of fly fishing. Can you really find something new to offer in a well-established category like sport fishing? Yes, again, if Sage. Founded in 1980, Sage continues to introduce new technology. Its latest product is the One rod, incorporating aerospace-grade carbon fiber in a design that has a smaller diameter and weighs 25 percent less than previous models, while also offering greater casting accuracy. For 2012, Sage is branching out into clothing, introducing a line of what it calls angling to keep customers comfortable flats in the blazing sun to chasing steelhead in an ice-cold As with other successful companies among this honorees, on the inside at Sage counts as much as its product line. Through application of lean techniques, Sage has cut costs per fly rod by more than percent. Sage reconfigured its production floor to improve work flow and invested in an automated cutting machine to replace hand cutting. Aside from reducing scrap and production time, the switch also eliminated hand injuries and dramatically reduced comp claims. SB may 2012 The maker of the Therm-a-Rest camping mattress celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, but not resting on its achievements. In 2011, the company invested in additional production capacity to meet demand for mattresses and the MSR camp stove (80 percent of the products are made at its SoDo headquarters). It introduced a new Hummingbird line of luggage and gear for adventure travelers. And it came up with the SealLine ECases, waterproof containers for personal electronic devices that still allow access to touch-screen and voice capabilities. A company that markets to outdoor adventurers needs an environmental orientation. Cascade Designs says most of its packaging uses recycled materials and is itself recyclable. SealLine and Hummingbird gear is PVC free. Metal manufacturing processes are zero waste. And paper use has been cut by eliminating printed catalogs and creating a paperless manufacturing system. photograph by hayley young