Chinook Enterprises is a social enterprise – we are designed to operate like a business, but we have a social mission: Supporting full participation in community life for persons with disabilities or other barriers.
Throughout the years, Chinook has helped people live more productive and fulfilling lives by striving to gain competitive employment for persons with disabilities, as well as inclusion in the community.
Timeline
1980-1985:
Chinook Enterprises was founded by Rob Martin in March 1980, as a result of a small start-up grant from Skagit County after another program was unable to continue operating. With just six participants, our company started as a commercial grounds maintenance program. In 1982, we opened a facility on the Mount Vernon Campus of Skagit Valley College, where our headquarters are located today. The next year, Chinook received the Employment Security’s New Small Business of the Year Award.
Our Industrial Production Department landed its first big contract in 1984, where we manufactured and marketed over 60,000 CountryLake Cutting Boards across the United States and Canada.
1986-1990:
With our Industrial Production Department expanding, we made over 500 picnic tables in 1986 for the local wholesale market. In 1987, Chinook Enterprises became a vendor for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. The next year, our production department manufactured Krylix, a line of acrylic organizers.
1991-1995:
As our relationship with Boeing continued to grow, Chinook was featured in two full-page Boeing Company ads, Overcoming Gravity is an Equal Opportunity Problem, published in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in 1991. The next year, our sales topped $1 million for the first time. In 1995, we successfully designed and sold three job training modules for employment specialists.
1996-2000:
In 1998, Chinook Enterprises received an AXIEM Award for software excellence. That same year, our building expanded to add 6000 feet of additional space.
2001-2005:
In 2002, Chinook achieved certification under ISO 9001-2000 and AS 9100A, a family of standards for quality management systems. In 2004, we achieved Zero Defects per 10,000 parts produced. A year later, we served our 3000th person in Chinook’s vocational program.
2006-2010:
In 2006, Chinook Enterprises achieved “Gold Quality Supplier” Status with the Boeing Company. Today, our industrial production program makes over 100,000 parts every year for the Boeing 737, 747, and 777.
In 2010, we opened a location in Bellingham. With the addition of the new building, Chinook expanded our wire assembly division.
We now have over 25,000 square feet of offices and production facilities, with fifty staff members serving about 145 people with a wide range of disabilities annually. Since 1980 we have helped place over 950 people in jobs.
