Jan 27, 1998

McCann-Erickson

Ken Willner has been named vice president/group account director at McCann-Erickson/Seattle, an advertising agency, to manage the Washington Mutual account. WIllner will manage the development of new campaigns for the bank in both new and established markets. Willner was formerly vice president at Rubin Postaer and Associates in Santa Monica.

Trans-Ocean Products

Trans-Ocean Products Inc., a surimi seafoods manufacturer and marketer headquartered in Bellingham, has appointed Dean Haskins to regional sales manager and David Green to operations manager. Haskins will be responsible for managin business in the northwest region of the United States and Green will manage the company's production, maintenance, shipping, receiving and purchasing departments.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle

Harry C. Thomas was reappointed to the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, and will serve a fourth term as chairman. Harry A. Pryde was appointed to his first four-year term, and RIchard S. Swanson and Stephen W. Walden were elected to two-year terms on the board. Thomas is the executive director of the Seattle Housing Authority. Pryde is the president and chief executive officer of the Pryde Corporation, a housing and commercial developer in Bellevue. Swanson is the president and chief executive officer of Seattle-based Continental Savings Bank. Walden is the president and chief executve officer of InterWest Bank in Oak Harbor. The Federal Home Loan Bank's mission is to expand housing and economic opportunities in the region by providing funding and other banking services to financial institutions.

LCL

Seattle contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis has announced several personnel changes. Superintendent Russell Mortensen has been promoted to designated superintendent for service projects, which are construction projects typically over $50,000 for repeat clients; Michael Dooley is now directing the firm's construction and renovation projects at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle; and Greg Brand has joined as a superintendent.

HHJ Construction

Rick Peterson and Jim Linehan have joined HHJ Construction Inc. of Sumner. Peterson is a chief estimator and Linehan is a project manager.

ATC to do asbestos work in Japan

SEATTLE -- Environmental engineering firm ATC Associates Inc. has formed a joint venture with Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd., a large construction and property management company in Tokyo. Together, the two companies plan to provide comprehensive environmental services in Japan. The joint venture initially will focus on asbestos management. "A great deal of asbestos has been used in the construction of buildings in Japan, and as many of these buildings are remodeled, prevention of asbestos fiber releases will become increasingly important," said Michael Burt, director of ATC's Northwest and Japan operations. "We think we can do $100 million in asbestos-related activities in the next five years. That's a very significant piece of business without even including soil and groundwater cleanup and waste-disposal systems. ... "We're the first providers of these services in Japan since they toughened their (asbestos) regulations. It's taken us about 16 months to get to this point. We've done demonstration projects there. We should have a good competitive advantage." Burt said ATC and Mitsui Fudosan also are looking into redeveloping many of Japan's abandoned contaminated properties, commonly known as "brownfields" in the United States. Based in New York, ATC Associates is a national firm with 60 offices and 1,600 employees across the U.S. ATC's annual revenues reached $113 million in 1997. The 21 employees in ATC's Seattle office specialize in geotechnical and environmental consulting. Some of ATC's local projects include: an independent consultant contract to provide asbestos, lead and hazardous materials services for the University of Washington; and the soil and groundwater cleanup of the former laundry site in Seattle where REI built its flagship store.

Nadine Romero leaves Ecology to join AHR

OLYMPIA -- Nadine L. Romero has left her job with the state Department of Ecology to join Applied Hydrogeologic Research Inc. (AHR) as a senior associate hydrogeologist and chemist. Romero worked as a senior hydrogeologist for Ecology from 1991 to 1997. During that time, she worked on water-rights issues and wrote the Washington State Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Regulations. She also worked on environmental cleanups with Weyerhaeuser. Romero was chairwoman of the first and second Symposiums on the Hydrogeology of Washington State. She teaches a national groundwater training program for tribes. AHR was founded in 1994 by Mark Varljen, who used to work at Hart Crowser Inc., and, before that, at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. AHR now has five employees who work in Seattle, Olympia and South Carolina. "We all had a background or an interest in research rather than just consulting," Varljen said. "We're trying to be the bridge. ... We're a consulting firm that believes in staying in touch with the research community." AHR specializes in hydrogeology, hydrology, computer modeling and information management. The company works on contamination assessment, remediation, facility siting and water-supply exploration projects.

SCS has new marketing coordinator

BELLEVUE -- SCS Engineers, a Bellevue environmental management consulting firm, recently hired Scott Lester as its new marketing coordinator. Lester is replacing Kris Baldyga, who is pursuing other interests. SCS Engineers is a national firm that employs more than 300 engineers, scientists and planners in nine offices, including Bellevue and Vancouver, B.C. The firm's clients include Weyerhaeuser, SEH-America, the U.S. Navy and several city governments. SCS helps clients with solid and hazardous waste management, landfill management and remediation. The company also specializes in ISO 14000 consulting and compliance auditing.

PEMA luncheon on winning Navy contracts

SEATTLE -- Kevin Ball, environmental services manager for the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Northwest, will be the featured speaker at the next Professional Environmental Marketing Association (PEMA) luncheon on Feb. 4. The theme of his talk will be "Client Perceptions and Behaviors in Differing Marketplaces." Drawing on his training as a buyer of environmental services, Ball will describe the Navy's perceptions of the environmental market. He plans to conclude his discussion by naming the "Top Ten" consistent reasons firms either win or lose competitive bids. The luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Latitude 47 restaurant on West Lake Union in Seattle. Cost is $20 for PEMA members and $30 for non-members. For reservations or more information, call (425) 455-3680.

Huntington sells oxidizer system

SPOKANE -- Huntington Environmental Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MPM Technologies Inc. of Spokane, has received a purchase order valued at $1.2 million for a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) system. Based in Schaumburg, Ill., Huntington Environmental will supply the RTO system to a printing business in Pennsylvania that emits volatile organic compounds into the air during its printing operations. "This system includes an RTO and process air collection ductwork," said Curtis McKey, vice president and general manager of Huntington. "We capture the VOCs and put them through our system, and water and carbon dioxide are what come out rather than the harmful solvents." McKey said Huntington has installed about 150 of the RTO systems all over the United States and in France, England, Canada, Mexico and Thailand. Huntington Environmental was acquired by MPM Technologies in April 1997. "It's been wonderful," McKey said of the acquisition. "We're more streamlined. ... MPM management has been great." Huntington is one of three MPM subsidiaries. MPM's other two subsidiaries are:

• Nupower Inc. of Spokane, which is involved in the commercialization and marketing of "Skygas," a patented process for converting carbon-based material into clean-burning fuel gas; and
• MPM Mining Inc. of Spokane, an exploration and development company.

'Building With Trees' workshop set

PORTLAND -- "Building With Trees," a daylong workshop on how to save trees during land development and construction, is scheduled for Feb. 24 in Portland. Sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation, the workshop will cover a variety of progressive tree-preservation methods, such as root-zone identification and site-mapping techniques. The workshop will highlight both the dollar value and the aesthetic value of trees. The workshop is set for 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland, 15555 S.W. Bangy Road, Lake Oswego, Ore. The $125 tuition fee covers all training and reference materials, refreshment breaks and a certificate of professional achievement. To register or receive more information, call (402) 474-5655. Has your environmental firm hired someone new or started working on an interesting project in the Northwest or overseas? Do you have news to share that would be of interest to people who work in the environmental industry? If so, send press releases and story ideas to: Laura T. Coffey, Environmental Editor, Daily Journal of Commerce, 83 Columbia St., Seattle, WA 98104; e-mail: laura@djc.com; phone: (206) 622-8272; fax: (206) 622-8416.