The Silicon Forest in Washington County
by Barb Siples,Washington County Historical Society & Museum Collections and Exhibits Manager
The Museum kicked off its renovation of the Collins Gallery by exhibiting the history of high- tech, “The Silicon Forest and Washington County: History in the Making,” which ran until March 31, 2004.
The exhibit then moved to the Washington Square Mall, where it was on display in the Summit Gallery April 12-24. The exhibit now makes its home at the Washington County Public Services Administration Building in Hillsboro, where it will reside through Sept. 30.
The development of Washington County’s Silicon Forest is unique because it was industry driven. Most regions’ high-tech clusters evolve because of a major research university that spurs innovation. Instead, one or two companies and their demand for parts and services initiated an environment of creativity and expansion in Washington County. However, the U.S. Forest Service also had an indirect but important role in fostering the county’s first high-tech companies.
Forest Service Region Six employed radio engineers in its Northeast Portland research lab. They designed portable radios to use in the field. In 1931 the goal was to link the fire lookout towers, the ranger stations and base camps into one fire warning system.
During World War II the Forest Service had an added responsibility: the Air Raid Warning System. Because no suppliers of good communications equipment existed at the time, the engineers had to design and manufacture the needed devices. The engineers gained experience working with the cutting-edge radio technology of the day. They also gained practical experience in how to manufacture the products they designed.
Many of the engineers and scientists at the lab were members of the local Institute of Radio Engineers chapter. At IRE meetings, members exchanged information on their research. This spirit of collaboration continued into the days of the first high-tech companies.
The DoD (Department of Defense) also played a role in developing Washington County’s high-tech industry. Brown Engineering Company of Portland, which later became ESI of Washington County, was a subcontractor for the DoD. Both founders of Tektronix served in the military and were employed in defense technology development.
Washington County’s high-tech companies also reaped the benefits of the Defense Department’s peacetime policies. After WWII the government sold military equipment at bargain prices. Local companies eagerly purchased parts they could rework for commercial purposes.
High-tech took root in the county and the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region when Tektronix was founded in 1946.World War II created the need for specialized electronic equipment and instruments that would help design and repair such equipment. Tek began to design and produce oscilloscopes, measuring devices needed to test other electronic equipment. The heavy demand for this product continued into the 1960s, fueling the company’s expansion.
Other early companies during this era were Electro Scientific Industries, OECO, Radio Specialties and Field Emission Corporation.
For the next two decades, the high-tech companies expanded into international markets, created new product lines and hired more employees. These companies were characterized by heavy vertical integration. They designed and manufactured all parts of their products, even something as minor as producing screws.
In the late 1970s the high-tech industry shifted from vertical integration to specialization. In 1976 an expanding Intel Corporation opened its first facility in Washington County. Hewlett-Packard and Wacker Siltronic also arrived in the Portland metropolitan area.
In response, a host of complementary firms arose, designing and manufacturing parts or providing services for the larger companies that moved into the area. As companies restructured their work force to accommodate this trend, former employees started their own specialized firms. Many of them continue to orbit around their parent company to this day.
Today the region continues to be characterized by an industrial system with complementing technology sectors. Now, however, Silicon Forest companies are part of the international as well as the regional economy. The future of high-tech in Washington County depends in part on the abilities of Silicon Forest companies to adapt to changing economic conditions on a global scale.
Economist Joseph Cortright lectured on this important issue at the Museum. Mr. Cortright, currently vice president of Impresa Consulting, was an economic advisor to the state legislature for 12 years. He discussed the “QWERTY” effect, which explains how standards are adopted in an industry. This strange arrangement of letters is found on the keyboard of your computer or typewriter.
Once the first typewriter manufacturer located the keys in this order, people got accustomed to finding the letters here. Because people expected this arrangement, other manufacturers were forced to follow suit if they wanted to sell their products. That is why we have this historic continuum of the QWERTY arrangement.
However, new ideas and innovative thinking transformed the heavy, clunky typewriters of the 1800s into our modern laptops.
Washington County’s and our nation’s high-tech industry developed along similar lines. Mr. Cortright indicated that initial high-tech innovations set the standard; companies located around these standard-setting companies. Although the industry continues to change, Cortright contends that its core – research and development – is not significantly threatened by globalization.
Dr. Heike Mayer, who wrote her Portland State University dissertation on the development of the industry in this area, gave a broad overview of the subject in her lecture. She pointed out that Boston and Silicon Valley developed thanks to major universities spurring creativity and innovation. In Washington County, companies such as Tektronix and Intel played that role.
Norm Winningstad, founder of Floating Point Systems and industry Renaissance Man, kicked off the Museum’s lecture series on high-tech development in our area. Mr. Winningstad’s first-hand recollections put a human face on a technical subject.
We want to record any stories you would like to share about your days working in high-tech. We will place them in the Robert L. Benson Research Library. Take this opportunity to be a part of history.
Sources for this article include the following:
The Silicon Forest: High Tech in the Portland Area 1945-1986 by Gordon B. Dodds and Craig E. Wollner.
Winning with People:The First 40 Years of Tektronix by Marshall M. Lee.
A Passion for Quality: The First 55 Years of Electro Scientific Industries 1944-1999 by Marshall M. Lee.
Taking Root in the Silicon Forest:High technology firms as surrogate universities in Portland, Oregon by Heike Mayer, 2002.
