The consortium promoting a Spokane technology hub missed out on tens of millions of dollars in federal funding earlier this month, but optimism remains high about the aerospace manufacturing proposal.
“We believe we have a strong value proposition for advanced manufacturing and advanced aerospace manufacturing, and we’re going to continue to work toward that,” said Gary Ballew, vice president of economic development for Greater Spokane Inc., an affiliate of the Inland Northwest Consortium that developed the Spokane tech hub proposal.
As The Wall Street Journal reported in October, the consortium’s tech hub proposal was one of 31 to receive the federal “regional technology and innovation hub,” or tech hub, designation, making it eligible for up to $70 million in federal funding.
The proposal calls for converting the 386,000-square-foot former Triumph Composite Systems Inc. building at 1514 S. Flint in West Spokane into the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center.
But on July 2, the U.S. Economic Development Administration announced that Spokane’s tech hub was not included among the 12 projects that will receive a share of $504 million in federal funding.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed that we didn’t get the funding,” said Mark Norton, executive director of the Northwest I-90 Manufacturing Alliance, which is also a member organization of the consortium. “It was a very, very rigorous process.”
Despite the disappointing news, Norton and others say there may be future funding opportunities the consortium can compete for, while still maintaining plans for the proposed manufacturing center and the region’s manufacturing goals.
“We’re still optimistic that it’s going to be a really big boon for regional manufacturing, but it’s just a slower timeline at this point,” Norton said, noting that more private sector involvement may be needed for financing in the meantime.
Considering there were nearly 400 applications received nationwide, just being one of 31 proposals to receive the tech hub designation is a major win in itself, Balleu said, noting that the tech hub designation will remain despite missing out on the funding.
Inland Northwest Consortium now We’ll see what we learn from this latest funding round and start thinking about next steps.
“The first step is to bring together (the consortium) to gather more information, find out what happened, report back based on that and come up with next steps,” Balleu said.
Funding may be available for the Technology Hub Program in the future, according to a July 2 press release from the EDA.
“As subsequent funding becomes available, EDA plans to invest in additional tech hubs to maintain the momentum of this innovative program for decades to come,” the press release stated.
At the factory
While the consortium considers its future direction, the site of the proposed American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center is expected to remain home to two new tenants acquired this year.
National Industrial Concepts Inc., doing business as NIC Global Manufacturing Solutions, expanded into the Inland Northwest in March.
As previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Woodinville, Washington-based sheet metal fabrication company is occupying about 54,000 square feet in the former Triumph Composite Systems plant.
The building’s expansion is unrelated to the tech hub designation, but Bridget Brewer, president and CEO of NIC Global, told The Wall Street Journal in March that the company would look at potential collaboration opportunities as the tech hub takes shape.
“We’ve definitely been talking about it and looking at whether there are any collaborations or opportunities to get into the aerospace sector,” Brewer said.
The Machinist Institute, a Seattle-based workforce training nonprofit founded in 2018 by Boeing’s largest labor union, began leasing about 4,000 square feet of space in April in the upcoming Technology Hub building in West Spokane, a decision that is directly tied to the technology hub designation.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to partner and think about the students who will be studying right there and interacting with the actual state-of-the-art equipment that will be there,” said Shana Peshek, executive director of the Machinists Society. “It’s really a great connection.”
The Machinists Institute is also a member of the Inland Northwest Consortium.
The nonprofit was founded as a workforce-focused training arm to meet the needs of aerospace advanced manufacturing and other manufacturing employers, Peszek said. The organization offers apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship and professional development programs.
Machinist Institute is also building a 9,500-square-foot main training center at 8304 N. Regal in Spokane, but plans to continue leasing space in the proposed Technology Hub building after the main facility is completed.
“We hope to continue this site’s presence after the other sites are fully completed and to continue to focus on composites and thermoplastics,” she says.
Peszek said he was disappointed that the Spokane tech hub didn’t receive federal funding earlier this month, but he’s optimistic about the consortium’s future work.
“Nevertheless, I know this collaborative effort will continue, but this is a necessary investment to ensure we maintain a world-class aerospace workforce in Washington state and, specifically, remain globally competitive,” she said.
As plans for the tech hub progress and the consortium works to secure future funding, she says the Machinist Institute will act as a training pipeline for companies already in the area and future companies that will be attracted to the region because of the tech hub designation.
“I think Spokane is poised to be a major player in aerospace manufacturing,” she says.
It was not immediately clear why the Spokane tech hub did not receive funding from the EDA this month.
Norton speculates that Spokane’s tech hub may have been left behind because aerospace technology is a more mature technology.
“If you look at the (tech hubs) that were awarded, they were really about new technology, so I think that may have had an impact,” Norton said.
Spokane’s tech hub is innovative, but it’s more of a major change in existing technology than new technology, he added.
“I think the federal government already has a lot of money pumped into the aerospace industry in general,” Norton said, adding that this was just a guess. “Maybe part of the process was wanting to help an industry that hasn’t had much federal support yet.”
The 12 technology hubs selected to receive federal funding on July 2 included Quantum Information Technology Hubs in Colorado and New Mexico, Smart Photon Sensor Systems Hub in Montana, Biomanufacturing Hub in Indiana, Precision Fermentation and Biomanufacturing Hub in Illinois, Lithium Battery and Electric Vehicle Materials Hub in Nevada, Semiconductor Manufacturing Hub in New York, Biofabrication Hub in New Hampshire, Clean Energy Supply Chain Hubs in South Carolina and Georgia, Sustainable and Climate Resilient Infrastructure Hub in Florida, Sustainable Polymers Hub in Ohio, Secure Autonomous Systems Hub in Oklahoma, and Personalized Medicine Hub in Wisconsin.
The need for manufacturing advanced aerospace materials still exists, Ballew argues.
“What the aerospace industry needs for next-generation aircraft, what it takes to get there, and ensuring we have the capabilities to get there in the United States remains a significant effort,” he said.
Following the announcement of the 12 tech hubs that will receive funding, EDA also announced that Under Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development Alejandra Castillo will be visiting the tech hub at the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center, creating further optimism for the future of Spokane’s tech hub.
“During her tenure, she and Tech Hub Program Director Eric Smith will work with the Hub to strengthen strategies to meet the immediate and future demands of the defense and civil aerospace markets, ultimately enabling more and more sustainable air travel while advancing technology sectors critical to U.S. national security,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a July 2 press release.
