By JESSE BURKHARDT
The Enterprise
In a June 1 news conference with representatives from area news media outlets, Insitu President/CEO Steve Morrow said the company's ongoing search for a consolidated business campus remains in limbo.
"We've taken our time deciding," explained Morrow, who was named as Insitu's new leader in late April. "We've had a change in leadership, and we want to make a thoughtful decision on how we consolidate and where we go. It's a decision we'll have to live with for decades down the road, so we want to get it right. We're pretty close."
However, when asked how long "pretty close" might be, Morrow was unwilling to set any timeline.
"Let us work through it," Morrow said. "We've narrowed it down and peeled the onion a little bit. The site has to make financial sense and has to be right for our employees. We ask for your patience, and it's going to be soon."
Despite being unable to set a date for a decision on where Insitu will locate, Morrow emphasized that Insitu -- the fast-growing unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer -- was not moving out of the region.
"No question -- we're not leaving the Gorge," Morrow said.
Morrow was asked whether keeping Insitu in the Columbia River Gorge region was part of the 2008 deal that made Insitu a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing.
"We don't discuss details related to the Boeing transaction," responded Ryan Hartman, Insitu's vice president of sales and marketing.
Morrow stressed that leaving the Gorge is a non-issue.
"My charter is to continue to grow Insitu and capitalize on the culture that has brought Insitu this far," he said. "The innovation and agility displayed so far is a valuable thing, something Boeing would like to propagate and continue. That said, we need to be profitable."
Morrow said costs would be a major criteria in choosing a location for a consolidated business campus.
"By far and away the biggest criteria is affordability," he said.
After that, Hartman pointed out that many factors were in play.
"There is no single variable skewing a decision one way or the other," he said.
"Our employees love it here," Morrow added. "Those who are established here wouldn't want to leave. We're a part of the community here. This is our home. Moving away from here would be leaving home. If we were to move, we'd lose our employees, and our employees are our company."
Hartman said the central concept behind discussing building a common facility is to bring Insitu's team of employees together.
"We're a better company if we're consolidating and collaborating," Hartman said.
On top of working through where Insitu's campus is going to locate, Morrow has a similar, but more personal mystery on his hands: He needs to decide where he and his wife are going to live.
"My wife and I are on a house-hunting trip," Morrow explained. "We've been looking from Stevenson to The Dalles and every place in between. After she's seen the Gorge, there is no question this is where we're going to live, but there are so many cool choices, on either side of the river. How do you decide?"
During the interview, Morrow said Insitu -- which made close to $400 million last year -- wanted to focus as much on civilian applications for its aerial platforms as military uses.
"Part of our business plan is to create markets we can move into, such as firefighting, support of police and fire departments, pipeline surveillance, border security," he said. "The imagination goes wild; anything is possible."
Having more to offer potential customers clearly has a beneficial impact on the company's business fortunes.
"A diverse portfolio cushions the impacts of imminent withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan," said Hartman.
Morrow pointed out that there was no way to discern how much research and development was going into possible civilian uses for the company's drones as opposed to military uses.
"Anything we invest in is applicable to both customer sets. It's hard to parse out what is civilian and what is Department of Defense," Morrow explained.
Morrow was asked where Insitu's greatest growth potential is -- civilian or military uses?
"DOD is clearly our largest market right now," he responded. "But the civilian market has significant potential."
Hartman pointed out that Insitu's highly specialized drones may soon be used in critical scientific research.
"There has been interest in having us participate in ice cap monitoring and global warming research," Hartman said. "If there is something we can do to contribute to solving a big problem like that, boy, wouldn't we be proud to do that."
When asked why he felt being Insitu's president was the right job for him, Morrow said he didn't hesitate when the opportunity came.
"This is a dream job," he responded. "This is a great location, the people here are extremely talented and smart, and the innovation is exciting. So it took me a nano-second to accept this job, and I'm going to hang on with white knuckles if anybody tries to drive me out. This is a great opportunity."
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