Journal of Business - June 2021

Page 1

CELEBRATING

June 2021 Volume 20 | Issue 6

YEARS

Isoray raises $50M to expand Cesium-131 cancer treatments By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Inside

Focus Magazine: Agriculture + Viticulture in the Columbia Basin

Manufacturing

Pasco Machine prepares next-generation workforce for next 100 years Page A13

Real Estate & Construction

Pole buildings get new life as unique, affordable homes Page B1

NOTEWORTHY “You would be surprised at how many times weekly in the Tri-Cities you drive by hundreds of hives on a truck.” -Aaron Brink

of Brink’s Bees Page A28

Isoray Inc., the Richland company that makes radioactive seeds to treat prostate cancer, has raised more than $50 million through supplemental stock offerings in recent months, with most targeted to expand its reach to other types of cancer. Isoray (NYSE American: ISR) raised nearly $10 million in October to fund operations through a pandemicrelated slump and $45 million in February. The latter is funding clinical trials and other costs associated with bringing its proprietary Cesium-131 radiation treatment to brain, head and neck, Lori Woods lung, skin and gynecological cancers that can be treated with implantable radiation devices. “We see a lot of areas where cancer treatment is changing,” said Lori Woods, chief executive officer. Isoray produces medical Cesium-131 pellets from isotopes imported from Russia and has 62 employees, with 49 based in Richland. It seals Cesium-131 in titanium tubes marketed as Cesium Blu for implantation at tumor sites. Prostate cancer is its core business, with about 15,000 patients to date. For patients, the implantable approach – called “brachytherapy” – eliminates the traditional surgery-followed-by-radiation treatment path. The Cesium Blu seeds can be arranged by physicians to ensure they are placed exactly where they can deliver radiation treatment directly to the cancer, unlike external beam radiation, which passes through healthy tissue on the way in and out. Isoray believes its approach is the future of cancer treatment and expanding now puts it at uISORAY, Page A24

Courtesy Washington Wine Commission Washington wineries shipped nearly 1 million fewer cases in 2020, but the news wasn’t as bleak as it seemed. Four in 10 wineries posted growth and there were other causes for celebration as the industry worked through a wine and grape glut.

2020 wasn’t a great year for Washington wine. Or was it? By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz

Northwest wine economist Chris Bitter painted a bleak picture when he recapped the state of Washington’s $8.4 billion wine industry in March. The state’s wineries shipped almost 1 million fewer cases in 2020. All sales channels – to consumers, to retailers, to distributors – fell in 2020, according to Bitter, of Vancouver, B.C.-based Vintage Economics. The Covid-19 pandemic bears some, though hardly all, of the blame. Washington

winemakers were dealing with a national glut of both wine and grapes even before coronavirus reached U.S. shores. “Going into the pandemic, the channel of distribution was full, even backed up,” said Vicky Scharlau, executive director of the Washington Winegrowers Association, which represents grape growers. Washington is the second largest producer of premium wine in the U.S. With more than 1,000 wineries and 400 vineyards, the state produces nearly 18 million cases annually, uWINE, Page A4

Leggari Products builds DIY juggernaut fueled by the power of social media By Kristina Lord

publisher@tcjournal.biz

With up to 100 orders leaving their Big Pasco warehouse daily, record revenue last year and plans to break ground on a new building later this year, Leggari Products’ owners are ready to take on the big boys in the epoxy coating industry. The scrappy Pasco-based startup, cofounded by Tri-City natives Tim Krumland and Tylor Svangren, keeps expanding – its product line, staff, facilities, vision – with no end in sight. They’ve got plans to engineer an automated packaging line for their proprietary products and break ground later this year on a building. They launch a merchandising line this summer. After all, you can’t be a YouTube sensation without the right gear. Leggari manufactures epoxy coating kits that can transform any hard surface, from countertops to floors and walls, into glossy works of art. They also sell kits that can improve pool decks and driveways. The company packages the materials

needed for each job into boxes for the do-it-yourselfers ordering the kits online. They also receive access to Leggari’s step-bystep video tutorials. These projects Tim Krumland are no longer reserved for trained contractors, the cofounders said. Anyone can do them. Those nervous about trying one for the first time can order a sample kit to bolster their confidence. Tylor Svangren “90% of the time, if they buy one of those, they buy a floor or countertop kit. Those have been a gold mine for us,” Svangren said. “We sell 400 to 600 sample uLEGGARI, Page A3

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