washington business
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What’s Ahead
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Jason Hagey, Executive Editor
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Manufacturing the Future
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Jason Hagey, Executive Editor
Mike Schwenk, Chair of the Board
UniWest, Pasco
Tom Fritz, Vice Chair
Churchill’s Steakhouse, Spokane
Tom Pucci, Secretary/Treasurer
Expedia, Bellevue
Mel Russell, Immediate Past Chair
Vancouver
awb executive team
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Gary Chandler, VP, Government Affairs
Jason Hagey, Director of Communications
Greg Welch, Director of Finance
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washingtonbusinessmag.com
No one calls them “carbon whiskers” anymore. High-tech carbon fibers have come
a long way since the late 1950s when Union Carbide developed the modern era of
high-performance carbon fibers. These days, carbon fiber is prized for its impressive
strength and light weight, and generally regarded as a sought-after, exotic material
used in aircraft, racing cars, high-end sports cars and sporting goods.
“Whiskers” just doesn’t sound impressive enough.
But like so many modern inventions that were once reserved for an extremely
limited audience, carbon fiber is beginning to move from the province of the exotic to
more common, if not quite widespread use.
And Washington state is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the industry’s
growth, as documented in this issue’s cover story from Washington Business writer
Bobbi Cussins.
Boeing’s use of carbon fiber in the wings for the new