$2 Single Copy
Volume 29, Number 46
big happenings:
Portland-based
GigaPan is poised for
a breakthrough 2013
as it plans to raise
money, turn a profit
and hire a new CEO.
strategies | 19
portlandbusinessjournal.com
business news from the Four-county region portland, oregon new life:
Revived project
another example of
Old Town growth.
3
january 11, 2013
ReVolt, state often at odds
Documents reveal tension as company collapsed
By Matthew Kish
Business Journal staff writer
An Oregon battery technology company that failed after receiving $11.8 million in taxpayer
backing told state officials it had
enough cash and venture capi-
tal backing to weather financial
turbulence, according to records
obtained by the Business Journal
through a public records request.
ReVolt Technology LLC, which
moved its headquarters to Portland from Norway in September
2010, abruptly closed its doors in
November. It subsequently filed bankruptcy in December
in Norway.
It’s unclear why
the company collapsed. ReVolt officials didn’t make any
public statements beMcDougall
fore leaving town.
An October note on the website
of Viking Venture, one of ReVolt’s
investors, said the company was
unable to attract additional venture capital in order to sustain the
company as it brought its technology to market.
The company’s inability to raise
additional venture capital coincided with a global slowdown in supSEE revolt, PAGE 32
with the grain:
Grain terminal
operators spend big
on upgrades.
5
focus:
Startup Roundtable
CEOs cite recruiting
challenges.
13-16
cathy cheney | portland business journal
Clinicient CEO Jim Plymale says
investor patience is starting to pay
off as health reform takes effect.
down to business:
Pacific University
adds business
program.
3
Health reform delivers cash
A handful of companies are already taking advantage of upcoming changes in federal law
a deeper look at three companies poised
to benefit from federal health care reform. page 31
sustainable
business oregon:
Pacific Power
ordered to cut rates.
6-7
tech talk:
PBJ’s annual list of the
largest tech companies.
the list | 17
BY Andy Giegerich
BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Several Portland-area companies are preparing to reap the benefits of federal health
care reform.
l Portland-based health information technol-
ogy specialist Clinicient Inc. projects its revenue
will soar by 50 percent over the next year.
l Vancouver-based medical device company REDpoint International Inc. expects
revenue to hit the $3 million mark in 2013, up
from $153,000 last year. By 2017, REDpoint’s
products, including its Stedline IV sleeves, are
expected to generate at least $60 million worth
of contracts.
l Pulse Health LLC, led by technology
self-expressive:
He’s got a passion
for Burning Man.
executive profile | 21
daily update: Get top business news. Sign up for daily email alerts at portlandbusinessjournal.com
entrepreneur Chris Marsh, has $150 million in
contracts to fill over the next few years.
With several health companies experiencing
similar successes, investors are sending more
money their way: Portland-area health businesses raised $27 million last year, roughly
twice as much as in 2011. Most of the activity
occurred after September, according to SecuriSEE reform, PAGE 32
2 | NEWSMAKERS|
portlandbusinessjournal.com
PORtland business journal | january 11, 2013
quote of the week |
‘We don’t bend over for things
that aren’t a good fit for our
state.’
Colin Sears
Vice president, Greater Portland Inc.
Page 1
Marsh
Page 1, 31
McDougall
Page 1
inside |
people|
News & Focus
Old Town project another good sign 3
Pacific University gets down to business3
Quick Hit
3
Around Town
4
Terminal operators pour $ into facilities5
Sustainable Business Oregon
6-7
Real Estate Roundup
8
Strategies: GigaPan
19
A
L
B
M
guest opinion
Stop deceptive Internet marketing 35
F
Editorial
Big banks still power economy
G
Inside
Focus: StartUp CEO Roundtable
35
13
Awards/Achievements24
Business Leads
26-29
Calendar25
Classifieds
33
Directory of Services
34
Executive Profile
21
List
17
Opinion
35
People on the Move
23
Reader Guide
34
Real Estate Roundup
8
Strategies
19
Sustainable Business Oregon
6-7
Week in Business
10
Adams, Mayor Sam........ 1
Blackman, Sam............ 13
Burgener, Paul............... 5
C, D
Compton, Matt............. 13
Degens, Sebastian......... 5
E
Enright, Diana................ 1
Fahlbusch, Monika....... 13
Flores, Greg................... 3
Gooding, Todd................ 3
Guindy, Wade................. 1
H
Hallick, Lesley................ 3
Hamlin, Scott...13, 15, 16
Hammond, Tom ............. 5
Hillman, Henry............. 19
J
Jackson, Angela............. 1
K
Kanies, Luke....13, 15, 16
King, Nancy.................. 13
Kulongoski, Gov. Ted..... 1
Kveton, Scott...13, 15, 16
Plymale
Page 1
Gooding
Page 3
Hallick
Page 3
Scanlan
Page 3
Hillman
Page 20
Smith
Page 3
companies|
Loffler, Gene.................. 5
Marsh, Chris............. 1, 31
McDougall, James.......... 1
Merkley, Sen. Jeff........... 1
Morasch, Steven............ 1
C
Calsk8............................ 3
Capacity Commercial
Group........................... 3
Carnegie Mellon
University................... 19
Clinicient Inc............ 1, 31
Columbia Grain Inc........ 5
M
Michigan State University
.................................... 3
Morasch Meats.............. 1
N
V
O
P
F
P
Pardue, Sam.....13, 15, 16
Plymale, Jim............. 1, 31
Q
Quinton, Patrick............. 1
Farm Futures Magazine.. 5
G
GigaPan Systems......... 19
Greater Portland Inc....... 1
R
I
Raicht, Patricia............... 3
Indow Windows
......................13, 15, 16
S
J
Scanlan, Bob.................. 3
Sears, Colin.................... 1
Silverstein, Todd....15, 16
Smith, Howard L............ 3
T
Thesing, Susan............. 19
W
ODS Health Systems...... 1
Oregon Department of
Energy.......................... 1
Vizify......................15, 16
Pacific University........... 3
Portland Development
Commission................. 1
Portland Seed Fund........ 1
Portland State University
.................................... 3
Port of Portland.............. 5
Pulse Health LLC...... 1, 31
Puppet Labs.....13, 15, 16
These indexes highlight people, businesses, organizations and
government agencies
featured prominently
in this issue. Page
numbers listed refer
to the pages where
articles begin.
Indexes do not
include companies
listed in Business
Leads, People on
the Move, Calendar,
Awards and
Achievements, Top
25 lists or advertisements.
An “S” before a page
number indicates a
story in a special section this week.
R
Jones Lang LaSalle......... 3
L
U
Urban Airship Inc.
......................13, 15, 16
E
Newberry, Skip.............. 1
Nokes, Chuck........... 1, 31
Technology Association
of Oregon..................... 1
NASA........................... 19
N
Elemental Technologies
.................................. 13
T
Looptworks......13, 15, 16
Louis Dreyfus
Commodities................ 5
REDpoint International
Inc.......................... 1, 31
ReVolt Technology LLC.. 1
S
Salesforce.com............ 13
ScanlanKemperBard Cos.
.................................... 3
ShopIgniter.................. 13
Weiner, Howard............. 3
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www.beckercap.com
Phone: 503-223-1720
mike.holzgang@colliers.com
Brad Christiansen
brad.christiansen@colliers.com
www.pdxtenantrep.com
503 499 0079
Quick hits
City to more than double
affordable housing money
more people to the street, fostering greater security.
SKB active in region
BY Wendy Culverwell
BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
W
N
W.
N.
TE
ET
M R
L A VE
IL RI
kw
oP
ait
y.
N.W. 4th Ave.
N.W. Broadway
The original developer, the
late J. Blaine Hoggard, spent $24
million turning a former cold
storage warehouse into a Class
A-style office building. He invested in a seismic update, new
mechanical systems, a cutting
edge radiant floor heating system and a polished lobby featuring marble floors and an elegant,
dark-paneled cafe.
The project itself landed in cold
storage when the original tenant, Ensequence Inc., pulled out
the city’s core.
and the lender, identified in pubLaw firm Gevurtz Menashe
lic documents as Amalgamated
bought the Fleishchner-Mayer
Bank, foreclosed.
building, 115 N.W. First Ave., last
Gooding said the revival of Old
fall and will move its offices followTown, coupled with demand for
ing a renovation. Pacific Northwest
creative office space, puts it back
College of Art, Oregon College of
in play.
Oriental Medicine, the University
Gooding credits Blanchet House
of Oregon, the Portland Developof Hospitality for improving the
ment Commission, Portland Saturfeel of the block and making it
day Market, TriMet and Mercy
more welcoming to prospective
Corps Northwest have
office tenants.
all recently made
Blanchet House
significant investdebuted its $12.2
ments in Old
million LEED
N.W. Hoyt St.
Town.
Platinum
el
Ste ge
P e t e r
home across
Glisan 321
N.W. Glisan St.
d
i
Br
Englander,
the street in
central city
August. Its
N.W. Flanders St.
manager for
new buildthe Portland
ing provides
N.W. Everett St.
Development
indoor waitN
Commission,
ing areas for
St.
N.W. Davis
called
SKB’s
clients, elimicommitment
to
nating the lines of
N.W. Couch St.
321 Glisan fresh evipeople who queued
dence that the neighborup on Glisan waiting for
W. Burnside
hood is on an upswing.
meals.
S.W.done,
Ankeny St.
The prospect of more office work“When that got
we knew
ers is welcome news, said Howard
we could sell tenants,” Gooding
Weiner, owner of Calsk8 and leader
said.
of the Old Town Neighborhood AsSKB joins a growing list of Portsociation.
land businesses and other organiNew tenants bring customzations that view Old Town, once
ers for Old Town’s restaurants,
the edgy neighborhood north of
bars and retailers while adding
downtown, as a logical extension of
N.W. 8th Ave.
Market uptick
cathy cheney | portland business journal
SKB President Todd Gooding says tenants are already showing interest.
N.W. 5th Ave.
The renaissance of Old Town/
Chinatown is gaining steam as
ScanlanKemperBard Cos. makes
plans to revive a long-dead office
project.
SKB, a Portland real estate investment firm, secured an option to buy
the former Soho 321 project from the
New York lender that foreclosed on
it after the ambitious project ran
aground in the recession.
SKB will complete the stalled
$30 million project and market the
75,000-square-foot building it now
calls 321 Glisan to creative firms in
Seattle and San Francisco. The project is named for its 321 N.W. Glisan
St. location.
Terms of the option agreement
were not available, but the building has a market value of about $11
million, according to Multnomah
County records.
SKB will complete the purchase
when it secures tenants for onethird of the seven-story building. It
has until the end of 2013 to sign up
tenants.
“Even with one hand tied behind
our back, there’s a lot of interest,”
said SKB President Todd Gooding.
N.W. Park Ave.
©The Business Journal Serving Greater
Portland, 2013. Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. The
entire contents of this newspaper are copyrighted
by The Business Journal Serving Greater Portland
with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use,
without permission, of editorial or graphic content
in any manner is prohibited. The Business Journal
(ISSN 0742-6550) is published weekly, except
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Journal Publications, Inc., 851 S.W. Sixth Ave.,
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postage is paid at Portland, Ore. Postmaster send
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SKB to remake
stalled project
as creative space
N.W. 9th Ave.
— Wendy Culverwell
321 purchase continues Old Town revival
N.W. 10th Ave.
The Portland Housing
Bureau is preparing to award
$26 million in grants and an
undeveloped site near the
Oregon Convention Center for
affordable housing projects.
That’s more than twice the
$11 million it awarded a year
ago. It’s a welcome relief to
housing advocates who note
that Portland’s tight rental
market makes it increasingly
difficult for low-income residents to find homes.
The need for new housing
is enormous, said Janet Byrd,
executive director of Neighborhood Partnerships, a housing
advocacy organization.
Portland has one of the nation’s tightest rental markets.
The area vacancy rate stood
at just 2.6 percent in late 2012,
according to NAI Norris, Beggs
& Simpson.
It takes an average annual
income of $36,480, or $17.54
per hour, to afford the $912
monthly rent commanded
by the average two-bedroom
apartment in the city, according to figures from the U.S.
Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
According to Out of Reach,
a report prepared by the National Low Income Housing
Coalition, Portland renters
earn less than the area’s
median income. It takes the
equivalent of 1.2 full-time
jobs to earn enough to make
a two-bedroom unit affordable.
Affordable housing is a
Portland priority. The Portland Development Commission’s urban renewal areas
must devote 30 percent of
their tax increment funds
(on average) to affordable
housing, a system that yields
varying amounts each year.
The $26 million available
through the 2012 funding
round means more groups
will secure local funds that
can be leveraged to secure
state and federal funds, tax
credit awards, bank loans
and nonprofit donations
to apply toward affordable
housing projects.
Monday was the deadline to
apply. The city confirmed 19
submitted projects, one more
than a year ago, but declined
to identify them until it scores
the applications. Generally, city money can support
projects that serve low-income
Portland residents earning 60
percent or less of the area’s
median family income, or
$41,640 for a family of four.
| 3
portlandbusinessjournal.com
portland business journal | january 11, 2013
SKB plans to retool 321 Glisan to
appeal to creative-type firms, the
fastest-growing segment of the Portland office market.
Patricia Raicht, vice president of
research for Jones Lang LaSalle’s
Portland office, calculates that the
73 Portland buildings that qualify
as “creative” command 10.8 percent higher rents than their peers
and “significantly” better vacancy
rates, 8.4 percent versus 10.8 percent.
The creative office movement has
been especially strong in the Pearl
District, just west of 321 Glisan.
With space in the Pearl dwindling,
321 Glisan is positioned to secure
businesses that want to be near the
Pearl and downtown Portland.
SKB will invest more than $2 million to complete the project and
rip out some of the high-end lobby
finishes. It also intends to secure
the U.S. Green Building Service’s
LEED Gold certification.
The building will be marketed in
Seattle and San Francisco, which
both have been rich sources of tech
businesses seeking branch space
in Portland. Local brokers can take
a look during an open house at
noon Jan. 22. Information will be
posted at www.321Glisan.com in
coming days.
Capacity Commercial Group is
the leasing agent.
Bob Scanlan, chairman of SKB,
said the company plans to secure
enough tenants to close the deal to
buy the building. After that, it will
lease the balance of the space, then
evaluate if it wants to continue to
own or sell.
321 Glisan is SKB’s first Old
Town acquisition and its third office buy in the past year. It paid $39
million for the CH2M Hill building, 2020 S.W. Fourth Ave., and invested $7.9 million in equity in The
Round in Beaverton in April.
“We’re looking to expand in
Portland,” Gooding said.
wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415
Business community spurs Pacific U. move
By Matthew Kish
Business Journal staff writer
Pacific University’s new College of Business, the first business school in booming Washington County, could one day serve
as a training ground for high tech
executives in need of additional
education.
The university already offers
business classes through its Arts
and Sciences college. The designation of a College of Business
allows the university to add faculty and areas of emphasis within
business, such as accounting and
finance.
Pacific University President
Lesley Hallick said the university
also plans to add graduate programs in business within two to
three years.
The programs could be offered
at night in order to cater to the
schedule of high tech executives,
including those at the Washington County operations of Intel
Corp., the Fortune 500 company’s
largest presence.
Intel is one of a
number of growing
Washington County
companies.
Hallick said the
new college was
launched
in
response to the needs Hallick
of the business community, similar to its schools of
Health Professions and Optometry, which train in-demand workers for careers in health care.
“We want to fill niches,” Hallick said.
Hallick is conscious of the flood
of newly-minted MBAs looking
for jobs and wants to avoid sending workers into the market with
credentials that aren’t in demand.
“I don’t want to jump into the
market where there’s already
a lot of players and not a lot of recruiters, according to the most
recent annual study from the Colneeds,” she said.
Greg Flores, associate direc- lege Employment Research Institor of career services at Portland tute at Michigan State University.
The popularity of business
State University, said business
degrees are increasingly popular education should help Pacific
meet its enrollwith students bement goals. It has
cause of the pracroughly 3,400 stuticality of the dedents today. Its
gree in a tough job
Where: Forest Grove
goal is to enroll
market.
Enrollment: 3,400
4,000 by 2020.
“There’s a clear
Howard
L.
case for the skills
Colleges: A newly
Smith has been
you gain from a
announced College of Business,
named the coldegree in busialso colleges of Arts & Sciences,
lege’s
founding
ness,” he said.
Education, Health Professions
dean. Smith prePortland State
and Optometry.
viously served as
awarded 993 unFounded: 1849
dean of business
dergraduate
deWebsite: pacific.edu
and vice presigrees in the last
dent of university
academic year, a
advancement at
nearly 16 percent
increase since the 2007-08 aca- Boise State University.
It begins operation on July 1.
demic year.
Business students are also the
most sought after by corporate mkish@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3414
Pacific University