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By NICOLE MONTESANO
Of the News-Register
Published: March 24, 2010
He peered over workers' shoulders to see their handiwork, asked them about their jobs and listened to a multitude of details about the production of luxury pocket knives and sugar-free snack foods. And he seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski was in McMinnville on Monday to praise two local examples of businesses that are thriving despite the recession. He was accompanied by an entourage of state and local officials.
Kulongoski had his eye on the McMinnville's Economic Development Partnership, developed by the city and chamber to retain existing businesses and attract new ones. He said it represents the kind of innovating thinking he'd like to see emulated around the state.
County Commissioner Mary Stern returned the compliment, praising the two-term governor as "a champion of economic improvement."
But the real stars of the day were Betty Lou's Inc. and William Henry Knives, two of McMinnville's brightest economic success stories. They have not only been weathering the recession, they have been thriving in it.
Betty Lou's was founded 30 years ago by a woman whose son described her Monday as "a little hippie chick with a vision."
The healthy snacks she developed for her children proved such a hit she began marketing them to others. The business has been growing exponentially ever since.
The company reached a new milestone last year, moving from its increasingly cramped quarters northeast of the downtown core to a sprawling Booth Bend Road complex where the Skyline Corporation used to build manufactured homes. With the move, it purchased new high-tech manufacturing equipment that promises to significantly speed the production process.
Betty Lou's was assisted by the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership and Kulongoski administration counterpart, the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.
William Henry Knives is a high-end producer of pocket knives, cuff links, pens, money clips and other luxury men's products. It counts among its customers such notables as King Abdullah II of Jordan, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and members of the rock band ZZ Top.
Owner Matt Conable moved his plant to Oregon in 2003, settling on a location in the McMinnville Industrial Park. He brought a nucleus of five workers with him.
Thanks to a growing international reputation for knives of unsurpassed sharpness and durability, the company now boasts 22 workers, a more than four-fold increase.
"This unassuming little shop produces some of the finest tools in the world," Conable told the crowd Monday.
As he led a tour through the building, he showed Kulongoski how the company crafts the handles for its unique limited-edition knives from a variety of materials, including Damascus steel, mother of pearl and slices of mammoth tooth.
"Nothing comes off the shelves, not even the screws," he told Kulongoski. "Everything is custom manufactured for us."
At Betty Lou's, the tour was conducted by founder-owner Betty Lou Carrier, who proudly showed the governor how she had turned her children's nutritious and sugar-free sweets into a line of health food products distributed throughout the world. He looked on intently as nutritionists demonstrated the company's technique for incorporating fruit and vegetable powders into snack bars to boost their nutrient levels.
Kulongoski said Oregon needs to attract new business, but first and foremost, it needs to retain, nurture and develop the ones it already has.
"I tell businesses around the world that Oregon companies can compete with anyone across the globe," the governor said. "We are second to none."
And he said doubters need look no further than McMinnville for proof.
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