Thank you to the Association of Washington Business for including our students in your Manufacturing Week tour. The tours were great and our students got a first hand look at their future opportunities.
By Jacqueline Allison October 4, 2024
TRI-CITIES – The 2024 AWB Manufacturing Week bus tour continued Thursday with visits to manufacturers in Richland, Pasco, Wallula and Pullman.
Employees were invited to sign the AWB bus on the second day of the annual cross-state tour to celebrate Washington’s manufacturing sector. The six-day tour, sponsored by Premera and Banner Bank, runs through Oct. 9 and includes stops at 25 manufacturing facilities and training centers statewide.
Tri-Cities
The day began in Kennewick at crane manufacturer Lampson International, where AWB President Kris Johnson delivered his second annual State of Manufacturing address.
Johnson highlighted the strengths and challenges of the state’s manufacturing sector, noting manufacturers’ key priorities for the 2025 Washington legislative session. .
Twenty high-school students from the Tri-Tech Skills Center toured Lampson’s plant in Pasco, exploring careers in manufacturing.
Richland-based OCOchem is developing and scaling technology to turn carbon dioxide into useful chemicals. Todd Brix founded the company in 2020, starting with two employees. It has grown to 17 strong and operates the world’s largest CO2 electrolyzer.
OCOchem has built and operates the world’s largest CO2 electrolyzer in Richland.
For every pound of product OCOchem makes, roughly 7 pounds of CO2 emissions are abated, making carbon regeneration seven times more effective than CO2 sequestration, the company says.