Boeing’s Supplier of the Year, Orion Industries, to open Auburn facility

Orion Industries will move 265 employees to a new 100,000-square-foot facility to be built in Auburn. A land acquisition agreement between the City of Auburn and Orion Industries was passed by the Auburn City Council at its Nov. 5 meeting.

November 6, 2012 5:46 pm

Orion Industries will movr 265 employees to a new 100,000-square-foot facility to be built in Auburn.

A land acquisition agreement between the City of Auburn and Orion Industries was passed by the Auburn City Council at its Nov. 5 meeting.

“Auburn is a key location for Orion for several reasons,” said John Theisen, Orion president and CEO. “It puts us in closer proximity to our largest manufacturing customer, Boeing Auburn, and positions us closer to a growing cluster of Aerospace suppliers.”

Theisen also points to increased accessibility to public transportation for staff and training program participants.

Orion’s manufacturing division, with a diverse customer base in the aerospace, automotive, medical and marine industries, forecasts continued year-after-year growth due, in part, to Boeing’s forecasts and seven-year global backlog of airplane orders. Boeing has been a valued customer and partner to Orion since 1957, and Orion was recently named a “Boeing Supplier of the Year,” selected out of 17,000 Boeing suppliers in 52 countries.

“We are extremely proud that Orion Industries chose to expand its facilities and services in our city,” said Mayor Pete Lewis. “It is not only a top supplier of the Boeing Company, Orion Industries is one of the top workforce development companies in the region putting hundreds of people to work in the community.”

Orion has achieved a 20-percent annual growth for nine years and has outgrown its current facility, located in Federal Way, where it employs 225 people in three separate facilities. Last year Orion served more than 350 people through its training and employment division, placing more than 100 of them into community jobs.

The property, located near the Auburn Municipal Airport, was once an unused portion of the King County Park and Ride parking lot. Auburn purchased the property from King County to increase surface water drainage capacity and acquire an avigation easement for future enhancement of its municipal airport. The land acquisition agreement with Orion Industries includes an avigation easement and a surface water storage and drainage easement to the city.

Orion expects to open its Auburn facility in November 2013.