We are pleased to announce our commitment to Wenatchee for our planned 2018 MegaCarat foundry.
Wenatchee embodies America at its best: a place where community and pristine nature are paramount. We look forward to contributing to its greater community for a long time.
Wenatchee is located in north-central Washington in Chelan County, at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers. Known as the "Buckle of the Power Belt of the Great Northwest", the city's name stems from the nearby Wenatchi Indian tribe, a Sahaptin word that means "river whose source is from canyons" or "robe of the rainbow".
We have leased three acres and a building from Stemilt, one of America's leading producers of apples and pears and the world's largest fresh market sweet cherry shipper. We have been impressed by Stemilt's operation and unique approach to farming, innovation, and sustainability. Stemilt is owned over three generations by the Mathison family.
Facilitation work for Diamond Foundry's new site and local hiring has already commenced. We are constructing diamond reactors in our San Francisco foundry, qualifying and stabilizing them, and then transporting the equipment for production to Wenatchee. According to our schedule, the first reactors will be deployed in 2018.
Our decision was enabled by tremendous cooperation with West Mathison from Stemilt; Craig Larsen and Patrick Jones from the Port of Chelan team; the Mayor of Wenatchee, Frank Kuntz, and his team; and Steve Wright along with the Chelan PUD team. Ben Faubion of Steven Benjamin Properties, LLC assisted with the real estate transaction. Governor Jay Inslee and Washington State's Department of Commerce also expedited the decision.