October 18, 2009

Insitu to open HR office
Lease will address growth needs

By Raelynn Ricarte
Hood River News

     Insitu will be moving about 150 employees into leased office space at Waucoma Center during the first quarter of 2010.
     The high-tech firm that is headquartered in Bingen has leased 50,000 square feet of space on the top floor of the Hood River building. Details of the lease were finalized this week with Embarq, the business that owns the property and will be known as Century Link as of Monday.
     “This lease accommodated Insitu’s continued growth in the Gorge,” said Jennifer Taylor, Insitu’s facilities director.
     In addition to offices in White Salmon and Bingen, Insitu now has a presence in all four Gorge counties. Within the past six months, the independent subsidiary of Boeing has opened a 30,000-square-foot office in The Dalles and a 90,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Stevenson, Wash.
     “Insitu’s presence in the Gorge is wonderful and we’re glad that they found the space in Hood River to accommodate their needs,” said David Meriwether, county administrator.
     “This is exactly the sort of boost our local businesses can use right now,” said Mayor Arthut Babitz.
     “One hundred and fifty Insitu employees eating in our restaurants, getting haircuts or using daycare year-round will provide more stability to our economy. Hood River’s economy is becoming more diverse, and that’s good news for everyone.”
     Insitu produces Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for military and commercial purposes. The airborne devices known as the ScanEagle and the Integrator are outfitted with infrared and electro-optic cameras for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence purposes.
     Taylor said, once Insitu expands into Hood River, the company will utilize a combined total of 230,000 square feet in all of its facilities.
     She said the move into Hood River will accommodate the needs of a workforce that has grown to 700 individuals more than two months ahead of schedule.
     “We’re part of the Gorge; we’re not Oregon or Washington — we’re one community,” said Taylor.
     She said the company’s lease of Hood River offices does not mean that its campus project has been shelved.
     “We continue to review proposals for the campus and it is still on the horizon,” she said.
     In July, Insitu invited communities throughout the Gorge to submit conceptual plans for a 300,000-400,000-square-foot campus — and creativity was encouraged.
     Four out of dozens of proposals came from Hood River County but the timing of Insitu’s campus development hinges on the award or denial of a pending military contract.
     The company is one of four bidders vying to become the STUAS (Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System) supplier to the U.S. armed forces. Currently, Insitu provides use of the ScanEagle to the military on a “fee for service” basis.