The cover of the May 2, 2011, edition of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week in 2021, we will feature snippets of stories that published a decade ago to provide readers a 10-year perspective of business news in the region. This week’s stories first published in the May 2, 2011, edition of the NNBW.
After Obama visit, Reno’s ElectraTherm looks to capitalize on national exposure
Hosting President Obama for a town hall meeting on April 21 cost Reno’s ElectraTherm Inc. a week of production, but President and Chief Financial Officer Steve Olson says, “We won the lottery.”
Life returned to normal last week for the staff of ElectraTherm after a five-day flurry of activity as company executives and employees worked with White House staffers and the U.S. Secret Service to prepare the company’s headquarters on Turbo Way for President Obama’s visit.ElectraTherm had to clear its 40,000-square foot production floor the week of April 18-22 in order to host the president, who addressed a crowd of 425 people, including more than 100 ElectraTherm employees and their guests and VIPs.
“Yes we lost some production time, but it is not a big financial burden, and it certainly is outweighed by the benefit and attention we got having the president here,” Olson says.
— Page 1, by Rob Sabo
Study: Seeds of Nevada economic rebirth may be in place
The seeds of Nevada’s future in technology innovation, says a new study, may rest in industries that have provided the historical basis of its economy — gaming, mining and defense.
But facing a strapped state budget, Nevada needs to be smart about attracting federal research dollars and private investments to create new products, new companies and entirely new industries, says the report commissioned by the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.
The analysis was completed by Walt Borland, a former green-energy executive who’s now executive-in-residence at the Nevada Institute of Renewable Energy Commercialization, and James Croce, NIREC’s president and chief executive.— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer
Vancouver company buys Anaconda mine in Yerington
The vast Anaconda copper mine northwest of Yerington has a new owner.
Quaterra Resources Inc. of Vancouver said last week that its wholly owned subsidiary, Singatse Peak Services, purchased the assets of Armetico, Inc., which includes 4.2 miles of mining claims, including the Anaconda pit.
More than 1.7 billion pounds of copper has been extracted from the pit, and historical resource estimates suggest more than 4 billion pounds of copper remain to be mined from the area.
Thomas Patton, president and chief executive of Quaterra, says the company’s first order of business will be to conduct studies to convert and expand historic resource estimates into proven resources.
— Page 3, by Rob Sabo
