Marine battery manufacturer’s expansion plans could create 50 more jobs in region
A Skagit County manufacturer with ties to the marine industry announced expansion plans that includes adding 50 new jobs.
Lavle, which makes batteries for hybrid and electric ships, announced in a news release on Monday that it is building a new fabrication and testing facility near the Skagit Regional Airport. The company already has a 28,535-square-foot facility but will soon start construction on a 22,000-square-foot building nearby that should be completed late this summer, Sean Connell, vice president of the company, told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
At this new facility, Lavle will test engines, generators, drives and motors. It will also package and ship battery cells that were imported from its partner company in Japan.
Lavle is in the process of selecting a larger manufacturing site in order to satisfy the company’s long-term vision to make the batteries in the U.S., Connell said.
Lavle is a joint venture between the Japanese battery technology company 3DOM and Anacortes-based Ockerman Automation. The customers that use the batters include companies of high-speed and long-route ferries, cruise ships and underwater vehicles, Connell said.
The company established its Skagit headquarters last summer.
