Congressman Denny Heck Brings Spotlight to Innovative Sumner Manufacturer

In unassuming office suite within an inconspicuous warehouse in Sumner's northern industrial district, some great innovation in manufacturing is occurring targeted toward driving down energy costs associated with and extending the life of machinery that runs on motor systems.

Flux Drive, Inc. which was formed and opened for business in Sumner in 2007, was the last stop on U.S. Congressman Denny Heck's near two-week tour of local businesses on his Congress at your Company tour.

It was a way for Heck to meet with and hear ideas from small business owners about how Congress can help them move forward in the global economy.

As the science might have sounded technical and complicated, the pace of the conversation at Flux Drive seemed to pick up the fastest when Heck, with a solid business background himself, quizzed company CEO Don Jacques on sales figures and the participation of investors in the privately held company.

Business development director Matthew Carlson gave Heck a real-world example of the value of the company's products: Flux Drive recently supplied 12 of its adjustable speed drive devices to the Vancouver (B.C.) Aquarium that were installed with the facility's pumps to maximize its energy efficiency. The aquarium has seen a roughly 40 percent reduction in energy use because the pumps don't always need to be run at full capacity and the drive allows for output variation, he said.

Depending on the customer and the use, the return on investment varied anywhere from under a year to about three years, Carlson said.

Heck wondered aloud why Flux Drive's products weren't "flying off the shelves," and Carlson responded "they're starting to."

In fact, the company that currently employs 13 to 14 people plus a few contractors has supplied products to a wide variety of customers including Boeing, Point Defiance Zoo and recently acquired a distributor in Singapore, said John Watson, vice president of sales and marketing.

The appeal of the company's magnet-based device is that it's 100 percent mechanical and durable, relying on pure physics, said Carlson. The electrical variable frequency drive, which would do the same thing, relies on a computer and incorporates all the traditional bugs and glitches associated with computers.

"We know there's a need out there based on history," he said.

Orders are increasing and Jacques said Flux Drive was looking toward incentivizing companies to purchase its products, in line with how utility companies like Puget Sound Energy have offered rebates when customers purchase LED bulbs.

Heck shared his belief that "increased energy efficiency was the low-hanging fruit," with regards to business and innovation. "This is just the easy stuff."

He asked leaders if they have sought or received any federal assistance; they haven't, said Jacques.

However, company founder Chip Corbin shared some frustration with Heck over the effects of sequestration on an ongoing arrangement with the U.S. Navy to develop a device that would support a salt-water environment.

The project is at a stand-still, he said, lamenting the excess energy expended and additional costs associated with the current lack of efficiency operating naval equipment.

The bottom line is that whether its a commercial or military enterprise, "we save a lot of money for people," Watson said.

Heck was previously scheduled to visit Bellmont Cabinet Company, also in Sumner last Monday, March 25.