Sells-Sponsored Tax Break Saves Marysville Jobs at Seacast

Tue, Mar 30, 2010

By Jerry Cornfield

Herald Writer

OLYMPIA -- A Marysville foundry secured a rare gift from the Legislature this year: a tax break.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed a new law exempting SeaCast Inc. from paying sales tax on wax and ceramic materials used in making castings at its facilities in Marysville and Seattle.

Lawmakers unanimously backed the bill in the regular session even as they considered taking exemptions away from other firms to raise money for plugging a $2.8 billion deficit in the state budget.

This new exemption takes effect July 1 and will save the company -- and cost the state treasury -- about $173,000 the first year.

On Friday, the governor signed the law, then posed for a photo with thankful company leaders who said it will help them preserve a 130-person workforce in Marysville and keep another 50 employees in the firm’s Seattle headquarters.

“This is a tough issue but I think it’s even tougher losing 180 family-wage jobs,” said Peter Schrappen, the firm’s government affairs official.

SeaCast began in 1986 in Seattle and opened a plant in Marysville a couple years later.

Its castings are used by firms in a number of industries, including aerospace and transportation.

SeaCast may be best recognized for its involvement in the run-up to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The firm produced thousands of bases with replica torches used in the nationwide relay.

Until 2008, the company did not pay sales tax on purchases of wax and ceramic materials as well as labor or services to make molds for the castings. The state re-evaluated its status and the firm has been paying it for about a year.

In December, the company sought help from Snohomish County lawmakers in getting the tax repealed. State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, sponsored the bill signed by the governor last week, while state Reps. Mike Sells, D-Everett, and John McCoy, D-Tulalip, co-sponsored a companion measure in the House.

The exemption is set to expire June 30, 2015, unless it is renewed by the Legislature.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com