washington's legacy companies - Seattle Business Magazine [PDF]

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WASHINGTON’S LEGACY COMPANIES In business for a century or more, they play critical roles in our economy and have wisdom to share. B Y R I C H S I M M O N D S & R O N A L D D O H R , P A C I F I C F A M I LY B U S I N E S S I N S T I T U T E EDITORIAL RESEARCH BY ROSS DOHRMANN www.SeattleBusinessMag.com/section/special-section

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Energy for life. Avista has been energizing lives since 1889, when we first harnessed the power of the Spokane River as Washington Water Power Company. We created opportunities, sparked imaginations and fueled innovation. Today, our legacy lives on. We are helping to modernize the grid and continue to invest in biomass fuel and wind power. And we are as committed as ever to helping communities grow and prosper, bringing economic vitality to the regions we serve. We can’t wait to see what the next 125 years will bring.

Learn more at avistalegacy.com Learn more at avistalegacy.com

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| CENTENNIAL COMPANIES |

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hile all businesses are important to the Washington state economy, our oldest companies — those that have survived and thrived for more than a century — play a particularly important role. ¶ These enduring institutions, representing a broad cross-section of industry, have made a long-term commitment to the region, and in doing so they have shaped our communities. They have helped preserve values of hard work and integrity and built a stable foundation for the state’s economy by adapting as the world has gone from stagecoaches to railroads to jet aircraft. ¶ They have employed and trained hundreds of thousands of workers through good times and bad, creating a skilled labor force capable of building houses, trucks, airplanes — and dreams. They bear testimony to the great things that can be achieved by entrepreneurs who have vision, resilience and dedication. Some of these centurions are well known, publicly held companies like Paccar and Weyerhaeuser. But an overwhelming majority are privately held, and most are family controlled. A surprising number are businesses that have been controlled by a single family for three, four, even five generations. They are all exceptional success stories: Only 10 percent of family businesses survive through the third generation, and only a tiny fraction of all companies last more than 100 years. What does it take to beat those odds? What can we learn from these Washington businesses that have thrived and survived more than 100 years? What shared characteristics have helped them become such exceptional businesses? Here we identify some of the best practices of companies that have successfully transferred their businesses from one generation to the next to survive a century of turbulence and growth. Based on interviews with business leaders and our combined experience of more than 60 years working with

THE LIST

privately held businesses in the Pacific Northwest, we have identified four keys to long-term success: passion and vision, adaptability and innovation, company culture and values, and strategic planning. Those who want to lead their own businesses into the next century should consider applying these best practices within their own ventures.

PASSION, PERSISTENCE AND VISION

the founder’s passion and early financial success are critical in launching a new business, but they constitute just the starting point. Business founders and the leaders who follow in their footsteps must demonstrate vision, which begins with knowing what one wants. Founders make their dreams become a reality by having a strong sense of purpose, persistence and self-reliance as well as a clear vision. For businesses to thrive over the long term, subsequent generations of executives and owners must also share the founder’s passion and sense of purpose. Jean Barber, vice chair

100 W A S H I N G T O N C O M P A N I E S T H AT A R E 1 0 0 Y E A R S O L D ... A N D O L D E R . 1. ALASKAN COPPER COMPANIES INC., Kent, 1913 2. ALBERBROOK RESORT & SPA, Union, 1913 3. ALBERT JENSEN & SON INC., Friday Harbor, 1910 4. APPLE KING LLC, Yakima, 1914


5. ARLINGTON HARDWARE & LUMBER INC., Arlington, 1903 6. ATTILIO A. MERLINO & ASSOCIATES INC., Seattle, 1900 7. AUTOMATIC WILBERT VAULT CO. INC., Tacoma, 1905 8. AVISTA CORPORATION, Spokane, 1889

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of Bartell Drugs, says that while the company was founded in 1890, only three generations have run the company. Barber says she and her brother still recall and act upon their grandfather’s dedication to treating all customers as guests. At Wilcox Family Farms, founded in 1909, third-generation family members Jim and Barrie Wilcox attribute the company’s success to its continued focus on quality, even as the company has reinvented itself. When the dairy industry struggled in 2004, the family turned its focus to providing high-quality, farm-fresh eggs. Soon afterward, the family joined the cage-free and organic movement in response to the growing demand for organic and cage-free eggs. That shift also aligned with the company’s desire to sustain the land, community and company for the future. Sometimes, a company’s value can be about not growing too large. That’s what law firm Karr Tuttle Campbell decided, says President Bruce Larson. He says the firm, launched in 1904, wanted to remain midsize to retain a feel of a smaller firm and to stay better connected to clients and community. The company’s longevity, he adds, has been a product of the relationship between associates and their clients and the role associates play in the community. In the past 10 years, Karr Tuttle Campbell has twice been selected as the pro bono law firm of the year for its free legal service to the community.

SPOTLIGHT

Founded in 1889 in Spokane, Avista started out as the Washington Water Power Company.

A V I S TA C O R P O R AT I O N

“W

e are in the beginning of a sea change in the energy business,” says Scott Morris, chairman, president and CEO of Avista Corporation. “With the integration of digital technology into utility operations, and the entrance of a new generation of workers who have grown up with it, our customers will experience energy in ways we can only imagine now.” As a leading energy provider for 125 years, Avista has remained nimble in a competitive industry that doesn’t allow much years room for error. Customers in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and now Alaska depend on Avista’s electricity, natural gas and other energy services. It was founded in 1889 as the Washington Water Power Company, which changed to Avista in 1998. Though business styles have necessarily changed over the years, Morris says, “We’ve held close the values of building trust and working collaboratively. ...The result is a company that is intertwined with the communities it serves, and what is good for the communities is also good for business.”

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The Wilcoxes of Wilcox Family Farms in 1918.

9. BAKER BOYER BANK, Walla Walla, 1869 10. BALLARD SHEET METAL WORKS INC., Seattle, 1907 11. BANK OF FAIRFIELD, Fairfield, 1908 12. BANNER BANK, Walla Walla, 1890 13. BARGREEN COFFEE CO. INC., Everett, 1898 14. BEKINS MOVING & STORAGE CO., Mountlake Terrace, 1907 15. BLACK DIAMOND BAKERY, Black Diamond, 1902 16. BLACKSTOCK LUMBER CO. INC., Seattle, 1912 17. BONNEY-WATSON CO., SeaTac, 1868 18. BROWN & HALEY, Tacoma, 1914

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19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

BURKHART DENTAL SUPPLY, Tacoma, 1888 C.C. FILSON CO., Seattle, 1897 CAMPBELL’S RESORT, Lake Chelan, 1901 CAPTAIN’S NAUTICAL SUPPLIES INC., Seattle, 1897 CLISE PROPERTIES INC., Seattle, 1889 COMMERCIAL CREAMERY CO., Spokane, 1908 DAILY ELLENSBURG RECORD INC., Ellensburg, 1909 DUNBAR JEWELERS INC., Yakima, 1898 DUNN LUMBER CO. INC., Seattle, 1907 EWING & CLARK INC., Seattle, 1900


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SPOTLIGHT

Stewardship and leaving a lasting legacy continue to drive Port Blakely Companies after 150 years.

P O RT B L A K E LY C O M PA N I E S

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here are three key ingredients to successfully sustaining a 150-year old company, says Port Blakely Companies CEO René Ancinas: people who are risk takers; the ability to adapt to business, family and environmental changes; and perseverance. Founded in 1864 by Captain William Renton as a sawmill on Bainbridge Island (after a couple of false starts), Port Blakely became the world’s largest sawmill company under one years roof during the next 40 years. In 1903, Ned Skinner and Jack Eddy purchased it, with the Eddy family eventually taking over the mill and accompanying forestland. The family expanded the business to include forest management and steward-

ship — a particular family passion — and real estate. Today, Port Blakely Companies comprises Port Blakely Tree Farms, Blakely Pacific, which owns and manages working forests in New Zealand, and Pacific Lumber and Shipping, an export log trading firm. Ancinas, part of the fifth generation of family ownership, says stakeholders and customers know to expect trust and collaboration when dealing with Port Blakely, a result of hiring and retaining employees who are aligned with the company’s family values and vision. Stewardship continues to drive the company, he says, and its goal is to keep growing while also “having a positive impact on the lives of our employees and leaving our communities and the forests we manage better than we found them.”

29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46.

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FARMERS NEW WORLD LIFE INSURANCE CO., Mercer Island, 1910 FOX’S GEM SHOP, Seattle, 1912 GEBBERS FARMS INC., Brewster, 1910 GRAY LUMBER CO., Tacoma, 1903 HALLIDIE MACHINERY COMPANY INC., Enumclaw, 1900 HANSEN BROS. MOVING & STORAGE, Seattle, 1890 HASKELL CORP., Bellingham, 1890 HELLIESEN LUMBER & SUPPLY CO., Yakima, 1903 HOFFMAN MUSIC CO., Spokane, 1913

HOLADAY-PARKS FABRICATORS, Tukwila, 1889 JOHNSON COX CO. INC., Tacoma, 1909 K & H PRINTERS-LITHOGRAPHERS INC., Everett, 1908 KARR TUTTLE CAMPBELL, Seattle, 1904 KAUFMAN SCROGGS CO., Aberdeen, 1903 KELLEHER MOTOR CO., Ellensburg, 1911 KEYES PACKAGING CORP., Wenatchee, 1903 KITSAP BANK, Kitsap, 1908 LAIRD NORTON CO., Seattle, 1855



VALUES AND CULTURE

family businesses face a particular challenge in surviving over the long term because siblings and cousins must build relationships that weave together a connected family whose members share values. That, in turn, facilitates alignment, focus and commitment among family members who may not otherwise agree on the best course of action. But every business benefits when owners, executives and employees share values that define what is important in a business. Values should serve as a litmus test for all business decisions and drive policies, procedures, practices and strategies. Ideally, those values are embedded in a company’s culture so that they help to shape every element of a business’s performance and results. At Burkhart Dental Supply, founded in 1888, President Lori Burkhart Isbell says she asks employees to focus on “integrity (earning the trust of the client), knowledge of the industry to make informed decisions and provide insights, and client success.” Five generations of the Burkhart family have embraced these values, and that has helped the company grow to where it now has 400 employees and provides more than $150 million a year in equipment, repair, supplies, consulting, continuing education and other services to some 5,000 dentists across the country. Baker Boyer Bank focuses on being a trusted adviser and on partnering with clients for long-term success. For more than 140 years, the bank has had a clear vision of “choosing to be great rather than choosing to be large” and providing “world-class services focused 47. LANE POWELL PC, Seattle, 1889 48. LAUCK’S TESTING LABORATORIES INC., Seattle, 1908 49. LITTLE SKOOKUM SHELLFISH GROWERS, Shelton, 1883 50. MARKEY MACHINERY CO. INC., Seattle, 1907 51. MERCHANT’S CAFÉ, Seattle, 1890 52. MERRILL GARDENS, Seattle, 1890

While our business

has changed since 1898, our thoughtful approach hasn’t. We were founded by a group of farmers in Enumclaw who banded together to “insure farm and village buildings and personal property against loss by fire and lightning.” Our first independent agent walked and rode horseback throughout King and Pierce counties, selling policies to farmers. While we’ve grown and expanded our offerings and coverage areas, our commitment to policyholders remains the same. We still offer thoughtful coverage that truly covers, partnering with independent insurance agents who are dedicated to serving the communities they live in. So while we look forward to exciting times ahead, our humble beginnings remain with us wherever we go. Thoughtful is how we do things.

ThoughtfulCoverage.com

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SPOTLIGHT

N O R D STR O M

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ordstrom’s dedicated customer service is one of the first associations most people make when they hear the iconic fashion store’s name. It is one of the founding principles, along with exceptional selection, quality and value, that Swedish immigrant John W. Nordstrom wanted to provide when he opened that first downtown Seattle shoe store with earnings from his foray into Alaska gold mining in 1897. As the company added years storefronts in Washington and Oregon and passed through generations, it quickly became the largest independent shoe store in the country as of 1960. Shortly after, it began to include women’s clothing.

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53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61.

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MILLS BROS. MENSWEAR, Wenatchee, 1906 MINNICK-HAYNER INC., Walla Walla, 1891 MOSS ADAMS, Seattle, 1913 MUTUAL MATERIALS, Bellevue, 1900 MUTUAL OF ENUMCLAW INSURANCE CO., Enumclaw, 1898 N.A. DEGERSTROM INC., Seattle, 1904 NATIONAL FROZEN FOODS CORP., Seattle, 1912 NEWMAN BURROWS, Tukwila, 1893 NORDSTROM INC., Seattle, 1901

Clockwise from left: Bruce, Everett, Elmer and John Nordstrom outside the Bellevue store in 1961; a Nordstrom billboard in 1942; Nordstrom founder John W. Nordstrom outside his Second Avenue store in Seattle in 1915.

Today, Nordstrom is a 70,000-employee-strong fixture in fashion retailing nationwide — with a still-impeccable shoe department — and it remains rooted in Seattle and retains the original vision. Bruce Nordstrom, a third-generation owner and retired chairman of the board, attributes at least part of the perseverance of the founder’s legacy to building a company culture that would survive changes. That includes a mantra-like goal for each generation to “leave it better than you found it.” It also means empowering employees to always use their best judgment in serving customers. As a result, the company has consistently been recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For.

62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

NORTH STAR GLOVE CO., Tacoma, 1910 NORTHWEST LABORATORIES OF SEATTLE INC., Seattle, 1896 OCEAN BEAUTY SEAFOODS, Seattle, 1910 OLYMPIA FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN, Olympia, 1906 OLYMPIA OYSTER CO., Shelton, 1898 OWENS MEATS, Cle Elum, 1887 PACCAR INC., Bellevue, 1905 PACIFIC LAMP & SUPPLY CO., Seattle, 1912 PERKINS COIE, Seattle, 1912



Family executives hold bags of gold in front of the original Baker Boyer Bank building, circa 1880s.

on the local market,” says Megan Clubb, the fifth-generation CEO. Baker Boyer attributes its success to focusing on the local geographic market, which allows the bank to understand customers’ dreams and help them achieve their goals.

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

a company’s values may vary greatly based on what sector it is in or who its founder was. But one area that is important for every company that wants to maintain a competitive advantage over the long term is in the quality of its employees. Businesses that optimize the performance and

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PORT BLAKELY COS., Seattle, 1864 PSF INDUSTRIES INC., Seattle, 1900 R.H. BROWN CO., Seattle, 1911 RAINIER INDUSTRIES LTD., Tukwila, 1896 RITZVILLE DRUG CO., Ritzville, 1900 SALMON BAY SAND AND GRAVEL CO., Seattle, 1907 77. SEATTLE BOILER WORKS INC., Seattle, 1889

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commitment of employees through careful human capital development are more profitable and more likely to experience long-term success. For Mutual of Enumclaw, which started as a mutual insurance company in 1898, that means training the firm’s 435 employees to focus on their clients — who are also their owners — as well as on the independent insurance agents who serve policyholders. CEO Eric Nelson says the company does that by measuring client group satisfaction annually. It wants to make sure employees do the right thing, are responsive to clients, offer a personal touch and keep processes efficient. Businesses must hire and develop capable people, set challenging performance goals and consider the business’s impact on employees, customers and communities. Family-owned businesses face the additional challenges of managing the intricacies of delicate family relationships and negotiating the blurry lines of authority. Successful leaders develop policies and job descriptions that clarify the roles, responsibilities and boundaries of family members, employees and owners. Napoleon Co., an importer of olive oil and other affordable specialty foods, requires family members to attend college and live or work outside the region before coming back to the family business. Joe Magnano, the fourth-generation president, says company values include a strong sense of doing what is right for customers, employees, vendors and the family. They must also be good stewards in the local community, because so many people count on their businesses. To that end, Napoleon Co. has invested more than $1 million in the community and local schools while also investing in its employees.

ADAPTABILITY AND INNOVATION

without exception, businesses that have survived for 100 years are characterized as being adaptable and resilient. All business owners experience tragedies, yet only the most successful ones are able to respond positively to each of these crises. Even in their darkest moments, these business leaders find the silver lining and make the most of a troubling situation — even if that means becoming a pioneer in uncharted territory and reinventing the business in some way. Being adaptable means challenging the status quo, remaining agile in the marketplace, forging a new direction, creating a new vision when business stagnates, or developing new ways

78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86.

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SEATTLE DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, Seattle, 1909 SEATTLE-TACOMA BOX, Kent, 1889 SECURITY STATE BANK, Centralia, 1903 SIMPSON LUMBER CO., Tacoma, 1890 SIX ROBBLEES INC., Tukwila, 1913 STANWOOD-CAMANO NEWS INC., Stanwood, 1898 STAR RENTALS INC., Seattle, 1901 STATE BANK NORTHWEST, Spokane Valley, 1902 TAYLOR SHELLFISH FARMS, Shelton, 1890

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SPOTLIGHT

W E Y E R H A E U S E R C O.

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ven a well-established company can have some surprises up its sleeve, as Weyerhaeuser did this year, announcing a move from its iconic Federal Way midcentury-modern headquarters to Seattle’s Pioneer Square by 2016. Bold moves define the company, which began more than 100 years ago in a two-room Tacoma office, where German immigrant Frederick Weyerhaeuser and his partners hatched plans for the timber on the 900,000 acres of land they’d bought from the Northern Payears cific Railway. The company soon developed new products made from wood leftovers, such as insulation and Pres-to-Logs, and established the very first tree farm in the United States while also manufacturing paper products and developing real estate. Today, Weyerhaeuser owns or manages 20.3 million acres of timberland and operates in 11 countries, poised for another 100 years producing wood products and defining sustainable timber farming practices while remaining a quintessentially local company.

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87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.

THE BARTELL DRUG CO., Seattle, 1904 THE H. O. SEIFFERT CO., Everett, 1892 THE NAPOLEON CO., Bellevue, 1903 THE SEATTLE TIMES CO., Seattle, 1896 THE WENATCHEE WORLD, Wenatchee, 1905 TIMBERLAND BANK, Hoquiam, 1915 TURNER & PEASE, Seattle, 1902 TW CARROL & CO., Tukwila, 1900 WASHINGTON FRUIT & PRODUCE CO., Yakima, 1910



A Mutual of Enumclaw board of trustees meeting around 1955. From left, Einar Johanson, Nils Anderson, Alan Anderson (near window), Arthur Kilian, Endre Anderson, Adolph Joergenson, George Deeds, D.E. Hansen and Walter Plogens.

to operate with a sense of urgency. Sustainable businesses must continually create innovative solutions and strategies to adapt to a changing world. Effective business leaders must be catalysts for change and have the flexibility to seek out new and better ways of doing business for long-term survival. Our discussions with local businesses have revealed that most privately held companies are reinventing themselves in some way, often adopting a new business model and/or a creative approach to the marketplace. Jeff Vincent, CEO of Laird Norton Company, says his company’s success is a direct result of its ability to constantly evolve over time. Originally a tree milling business, Laird Norton transitioned into timber, then into multiple operating businesses, and finally into real estate, wealth management

96. WASHINGTON TRUST BANK, Spokane, 1902 97. WEYERHAEUSER CO., Federal Way, 1900 98. WILCOX FAMILY FARMS, Roy, 1909 99. WITHERSPOON KELLEY, Spokane, 1884 100. YE OLDE CURIOSITY SHOP INC., Seattle, 1899

and private equity. The company “was able to thrive because the family desired to stay together,” he says. “Family members were willing to adapt and change, and they were willing to make the hard decisions.” Rainier Industries, founded in 1896, started as a business supplying canvas tents to prospectors during the Klondike gold rush. Then it supplied the U.S. military with tents during World War II. Over time, as it acquired other tent and awning companies, it transitioned into the sign and graphics industry. Similarly, Taylor Shellfish Farms has continually adapted to meet new challenges since the 1890s, and today is the largest producer of farmed shellfish in the United States. Fourthgeneration President Bill Taylor believes “it is hard to grow without taking risk, and it is OK to fail as long as you learn from your mistakes.” He recalls the adventurous nature of his great-grandfather, who initially had a farming business with Wyatt Earp in Arizona and then followed the Klondike gold rush to Alaska before settling in Olympia. The Taylor family encourages risk taking as a way of seeking opportunities to grow and learn.

STRATEGIC PLANNING & ACTION

all businesses struggle to endure. Businesses mature, markets and technologies change, suppliers and customers modify the rules of the game, and competitors quickly co-opt effective strategies. Yet long-standing busiSeptember 2014 SEATTLE BUSINESS / 41 41

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SPOTLIGHT Paccar ironworker Ray Lind atop the Space Needle in 1961. Today, the company is known globally for its Peterbilt, Kenworth and DAF trucks.

PA C C A R I N C.

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ounded in 1905 as Seattle Car Manufacturing Co., Paccar (annual revenues: $17 billion) has grown from a local steel manufacturer to a global technology company, serving customers in more than 100 countries. Paccar’s 23,000 employees design, manufacture and support the company’s world-class quality products — Kenworth, years Peterbilt and DAF trucks — in 12 factories on six continents. Paccar Financial Services,

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Parts, Information Technology, and Engines provide support to its customers in partnership with 2,000 independent dealers. Paccar is an environmental leader and has pioneered green solutions, including liquid natural gas and compressed natural gas commercial vehicles, hybrid trucks and “zero-waste-to-landfill” factories. Paccar has achieved an outstanding record of shareholder growth, including 75 consecutive years of net profitability, and delivered a regular quarterly dividend since 1941.



Above, Dunn Lumber Company’s building on Latona Avenue Northeast, not long after rebuilding from a fire in 1938. Below left, Ed Dunn Sr., Ed Dunn Jr. and Mike Dunn around 1980. Below right, the Lynnwood store opening in 1984.

nesses are able to work through such tough issues, whether by exploring new resources in the market, creating a new understanding of what the business needs in order to thrive, or, in the case of family-owned businesses, “pruning the family tree” by buying out a particular family branch. In our practice, we often see business owners who resist strategic planning and thereby fail to develop a framework for thinking about the future of their businesses. This is especially true for family-owned businesses. For example, nearly half of the respondents to the 2007 Laird Norton Tyee

Family Business Survey reported not having a written strategic plan. Almost three-quarters of respondents reported that they did not have a succession plan in place, and 64 percent reported having no formal requirements or qualifications for hiring family members to work in the business. Yet the benefits are well documented. The Arthur Andersen/Mass Mutual American Family Business Survey of 1995 and 1997 found that businesses with a written strategic plan were more likely also to have formal buy-sell agreements and stock redemption plans, to have held more board meetings September 2014 SEATTLE BUSINESS / 43

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and to have formalized family employment and succession plans — all important to long-term success. Port Blakely Companies, a fifth-generation family-owned business with forestry and forest products interests, provides a good example of how businesses can reap the benefits of strategic planning. The business has adopted an organizational strategy to protect and strengthen the Port Blakely culture, as well as an initiative focused on estate planning and generational transitions. René Ancinas, president and CEO of Port Blakely, emphasizes the importance of planning for the future with family members “who are truly committed to the long-term viability of the family business” and “aligned with family values and vision.” With the clearly stated goal of remaining a familycontrolled business, Port Blakely recognizes the need to build, protect and enhance the business through careful planning to ensure alignment between the family and the business. Port Blakely focuses on partnering with stakeholders, family, employees, community and regulators to do what is right and have a positive impact by “leaving our communities and forests better than we found them.” Successful family-owned business leaders are experts at managing the emotional side of matters, but they also recognize the usefulness of third-party advice and objective perspectives when resolving conflicting goals and emotions. They understand that conferring with a board of directors and other outside experts can provide much-needed objectivity and new ideas. Businesses need to develop new strategies if they are to remain healthy and financially viable in a dynamic environment with increasingly competitive markets. Family-owned businesses that take the time to plan are better positioned to take advantage of opportunities and enjoy a smooth transition of family ownership and management to the next generation. Privately held businesses that have survived for multiple generations value keeping the business in the family, and these legacy-oriented families recognized that this requires a long-term perspective. They repeatedly demonstrate their willingness to make significant investments, knowing that the returns may not be realized for 20 years. This stands in stark contrast to the actions of public corporations, which often expect a return in the next quarter.

CONCLUSION

businesses that sustain their growth and success over long periods of time continually raise the bar of excellence with ever-higher standards of performance. They collect business performance metrics and compare their performance against that of their competitors. They demand accountability for management and they regularly monitor stakeholder satisfaction, alignment and commitment. And they are not afraid to seek the expertise and guidance of independent third parties. The 100-year-old businesses featured in this special sponsored supplement to Seattle Business magazine operate in varied industries, yet they have many shared characteristics that 44 / SEATTLE BUSINESS September 2014


Taylor Shellfish has been farming on the tidelands in Washington since the late 1800s. From left, Bill Taylor, Paul Taylor, Diani Taylor, Brittany Taylor and Jeff Pearson, representing the fourth and fifth generations of the family business.

underlie their long-term successes. Our experience consulting with these and other businesses has consistently demonstrated that achieving long-term success requires passion and perseverance, human capital development, values and vision, adaptability and innovation, and strategic planning. We applaud these 100-year-old businesses for their commitment, drive and sense of purpose. They serve as models to other businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest that aspire to follow in their footsteps for the next 100 years and beyond.

rich simmonds and ronald dohr, ph.d., are partners with the Pacific Family Business Institute in Seattle. Since 2010, PFBI has served as a resource for Pacific Northwest family businesses by facilitating seminars, workshops and affinity groups for peer-to-peer information sharing. In addition to offering programs that foster constructive communication, PFBI facilitates relationships and discussions among family members, as well as between business-owning families that can benefit from one another’s Simmonds Dohr knowledge and support. Finally, through the annual Northwest Family Business Survey and other studies, PFBI conducts research to study the best practices, trends and issues affecting family businesses. For more information, visit pacificfamilybusiness.com. www.SeattleBusinessMag.com/section/special-section

Taylor Shellfish photo by Bill Whitbeck

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Photo Courtesy of Chris J. Roberts ©

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