Atlas Technologies is one of just seven businesses and organizations across Washington to share in $1 million from the state Department of Commerce's final round of Evergreen Manufacturing Growth Grants. The $150,000 award will spur $1.6 million in new capital investments to expand Atlas’s production facilities at Glen Cove Industrial Park, add high-wage manufacturing jobs locally, and support Atlas's machinist apprenticeship program through AJAC, the state's largest apprenticeship training organization.
"This grant comes to us at just the right time," said Jed Bothell. "We've increased customer count and production volume to the point that we just don't fit in our current space. The grant money will allow Atlas to increase innovation, expand production, and grow our team, thus supporting more family-wage manufacturing jobs in our small, rural community."
Atlas Technologies is a leading Jefferson manufacturer of scientific products and custom vacuum chambers used in quantum computing, space travel, and nuclear and green energy applications.
For years the company has pressed against a single hard limit: space. Flat, industrial-ready land with power, water, and sewer is scarce in Jefferson County, and Atlas had all but maxed out its hillside property. The grant lets a proven local manufacturer grow where it already stands rather than look elsewhere to do it.
“This is a win for all of Jefferson County,” said EDC director, David Ballif. “Atlas Technologies is exactly the kind of homegrown manufacturer we want to see growing and investing here, creating high-wage jobs, training the next generation of skilled workers, and making extraordinarily sophisticated products for customers around the world. I also want to recognize EDC Communications Manager, Laura Brooks, who was instrumental in getting this grant across the finish line, and Finance Manager Phoebe Reid, whose work leading Jefferson County’s first Manufacturers’ Convening helped lay the groundwork for this win.”
Atlas’s award is one result of the EDC’s broader work with Jefferson County manufacturers: bringing companies together, identifying strong opportunities for investment, advocating for local businesses through competitive funding processes, and connecting manufacturers to training pipelines such as AJAC and other resources that help rural producers compete with far larger metros.