Pullman is a contender for a major expansion of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories that could bring 300 more jobs to the city.
SEL President Edmund O. Schweitzer III told the Pullman Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday the company’s manufacturing operations in Pullman are nearing capacity.
Schweitzer wants to build a new 100,000-square-foot manufacturing building within the next 18 months. Pullman is the likely site, he said, although he is considering locating the manufacturing facility in another state with a “less restrictive business climate.” Possible alternatives include Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin and Idaho.
Schweitzer founded SEL in Pullman in 1982 to market an electrical relay he invented. The company now designs, manufactures, sells and distributed products for the protection, automation, control and metering of electric power systems. It has grown to include more than 1,200 employees and 50 locations worldwide.
SEL’s workforce expanded by 210 people worldwide in 2005, including 137 jobs in Pullman. Schweitzer announced plans in February to bring 168 jobs to Pullman in 2006. Okay, Pullman the gauntlet has been thrown down. Ed Schweitzer considers Pullman to have a restrictive business climate. And who do you think has contributed to that reputation? How about the interfering elitists of the WSU College of Liberal Arts and the Moscow City Council to start with. Every new large retail development in Pullman and Whitman County is being appealed and held up by these bozos. The city development process allows for far too many frivilous delays. We need to enact a law like Poulsbo that forces appellants to pay their own way. I'm sure the failure of the state legislature to abolish the death tax and the failure of the Whitman County commissioners to get rid of the ridiculous proposed rural housing ordinance is also a factor. Funny how a lot of the stories in the paper today have a certain synergy with the Schweitzer announcement.
Pullman is at a critical crossroads. How much longer can we tolerate groups like PARD? Where is the outrage in the community? Why isn't the Daily News filled every day with letters like we saw today? We're in a street fight, not a high school debate club meeting, and the future of our town is at stake. Let everyone know that you are sick and tired of PARD's delaying tactics and that you support growth and development in Pullman. PARD had a chance to make their case and they lost, fair and square.
IT'S TIME TO BRUSH ASIDE THE NATTERING NAYSAYERS AND GET THINGS MOVING IN THIS TOWN!!!You can sit on the sidelines and let the socialists pick the direction we're going or you can get involved. It's that simple.
Notice Moscow isn't listed as a contender. I'll bet the voters of Moscow are kicking themselves right now for electing that group of anti-growthers to the City Council.
4 comments:
Let's hope the Fairbanks annexation is approved tonight The hearing is going on right now, in the City Council chambers. It's a perfect fit and will help build population on the north end of Pullman, which in turn will bring retail to that area. We need growth in that area and it can only help the people who already live there.
Wake up Pullman! We have opportunity knocking on many doors, we need to answer with a resounding YES!
Good news! The Fairbanks annexation has been approved! This is a key to development for Schweitzer Engineering and future development in Pullman. Congrats and thank you to the Pullman City Council!
Ed Schweitzer's announcement could be a boon for Pullman. If the City & County doesn't actively pursue this development, I for one will be hopping mad!!!
We [ the people of Pullman] really need to get behind this.
Let's not let, yet another golden opportunity slip away .
Tom,
You're killing me here! I cannot stay ahead of you with all the Wal-Mart stuff going on! :)
And you are right about Moscow ruing the day that they voted the no-growth Socialists into office. It will take us many, many years to recover economically from their decisions.
And at one level we can never recover. For instance, Ed Schweitzer well knows that the People's Republic of Moscow is no place to have a business. And that's common knowledge on the street as well.
But as long as the Socialists ensure that our major employer is strictly the government (WSU, UI, MSD, etc), then we have nothing to worry about, right? Sure, not if you want to subsidize socialism strictly on the backs of property taxes.
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