A 30-year timeline of key business events from Nike’s first Chinese factory to Intel’s new Hillsboro fab project.
1981
Nike opens first factory in China
Intel starts supplying microprocessors for PCs
Former Tektronix employee Tom Bruggere founds Mentor Graphics
NOAA facilities at the Hatfield Marine Science Center are constructed
Oregon Business magazine is founded
1982
Timber company Georgia-Pacific moves headquarters to Atlanta
Advertising firm Wieden+Kennedy is founded
Metro Council approves the first Regional Transportation Plan, paving the way for the development of TriMet
Cow Creek tribe gains federal recognition
1983
The Grande Ronde tribe gains federal recognition
“Big Pink,” the U.S. Bancorp tower, is constructed
The Oregon Wine Advisory Board is started
1984
Widmer Brothers Brewery is founded
Oregon abolishes the unitary tax, a levy on the worldwide profits of companies operating in Oregon
James Young starts Entek International
Oregon opens its first foreign trade office in Tokyo
The largest floating dry dock in the Western Hemisphere is constructed in Portland
1985
McMenamins opens the first post-Prohibition brew pub in Hillsdale
Goonies, filmed in Astoria and other locations on the coast, is released
State-run lottery is established
Pacific Salmon Treaty is signed between Canada and U.S. to limit harvest of Columbia River salmon
1986
Columbia Sportswear introduces its first ski jacket, the Bugaboo
Milwaukie-based comic book publisher Dark Horse creates its first comic: Dark Horse Presents
Fred Meyer goes public
A record 35 Oregon companies are purchased by out-of-state firms
Oregon’s trade with Japan tops $4.9 billion
Tektronix founder Howard Vollum dies in a plane crash
1987
Claymation pioneer Will Vinton produces first “California Raisins” commercial
Fujitsu Microelectronics plans a semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in Gresham
Fires burn 245,000 acres of timber worth $97.3 million
Oregon’s 40 public companies see combined profits leap by 38%
Unemployment in rural Wheeler and Grant counties tops 14%; statewide rate drops under 7%
1988
Nike brands the slogan “Just Do It”
Oregon Steel goes public
National Indian Gaming Regulator Act allows tribes to offer gambling on their lands
Japan purchases 31% of Oregon exports
Rogue Brewery opens in Newport
1989
The Oregon Legislature names the hazelnut the Oregon state nut
The Coquille Indian Tribe gains federal recognition
1990
The northern spotted owl is declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act
Measure 5 puts limits on property taxes and moves school funding from local to state control
1991
Barbara Roberts is elected the first woman governor
McMenamins has 10 brewpubs; there are only 191 nationwide
1992
Intel becomes the world’s largest semiconductor supplier
Snake River spring and summer Chinook are listed as a threatened species
1993
President Clinton hosts forest summit in Portland
The 16-year-old Trojan Nuclear Power Plant is shut
1994
Hoyt Street Properties acquires Burlington Northern rail yard in Portland, which begins development of the Pearl district
The Columbia River is closed to commercial salmon fishing by non-Indians
The Northwest Forest Plan passes, pleasing neither logger nor environmentalist
Oregon Supreme Court rules video lottery retailers are not casinos
1995
Metro adopts the Region 2040 Growth Concept to halt sprawl
Salmon catch is below 1 million pounds, the lowest since 1866
OHSU separates from the Oregon State System of Higher Education
1996
Enron purchases Portland General Corporation for $2.1 billion
Total Oregon Lottery proceeds to state programs pass $1 billion
The construction boom puts window-and-door maker Jeld-Wen at No. 1 on the magazine’s Private 150 list
There are 70 public companies in the state, with Nike at No. 1 with $4.7 billion in revenue
Bill Naito, one of the founders of the Made In Oregon chain, dies; Portland renames Front Avenue to Naito Parkway in his honor
1997
U.S. Bancorp moves its corporate headquarters from Portland to Minneapolis
Coffee People announces a 30-store expansion
1998
Kroger Company acquires Fred Meyer for $8 billion, creating the largest supermarket chain in the country
A constitutional amendment is passed requiring 15% of Oregon Lottery proceeds to be used for natural resources
The federal government places Coho salmon on the threatened species list
1999
Stumptown Coffee Roasters opens first location in SE Portland
New Seasons Market opens its first store in Raleigh Hills
Henry Weinhard’s Brewery sold to Miller Brewing
Oregon minimum wage increases to $6 an hour, second highest in the country
Irvine-based Diedrich Coffee purchases Coffee People
2000
Measure 86 puts the kicker into the state constitution
Willamette Industries reaches a $11.2 million settlement with EPA over Clean Air Act violations, the largest settlement for factory emissions to date
2001
TriMet opens Red Line MAX service to the airport, the first train-to-plane transit service on the West Coast
Cascade Grain Products breaks ground on a $230 million ethanol plant in Port Westward
2002
Vestas Wind Systems relocates its North American headquarters to Portland
Measure 26 raises the minimum wage to $6.90 and ties it to the consumer price index
Air China Cargo announces non-stop cargo service from PDX
2003
Voodoo Donuts opens its first store in downtown Portland
Portland Mortgage Co. is sold to Illinois-based United Financial Mortgage Corp.
Nike acquires Converse for $305 million
2004
Linus Torvalds, chief architect of Linux open-source software, moves to Portland from California
Oregon Arena Corp., owner of the Rose Garden Arena, files for bankruptcy
2005
Intel partners with Apple to power Mac computers
Tillamook Creamery announces ban on artificial growth hormones for its dairy cows
Oregon Lottery adds line of video gaming machines
2006
Lottery revenues top $1 billion
Meier & Frank is acquired by Macy’s parent company, Federated Department Stores
Portland General Electric begins trading on the NYSE, marking the end of Enron’s ownership
Sacramento-based Lifeline Development Group announces plans to build the largest wind farm in the Columbia River Gorge, the 32,100-acre Shepherds Flat Wind Farm
London-based Lion Capital acquires Kettle Foods for a reported $300 million
2007
Tektronix is sold to Danaher Corp. for $2.8 billion
Swedish home-furnishing giant IKEA opens first Oregon store
Nike opens 12,000-square-foot flagship store in Beijing
Oregon Steel is purchased by Russian conglomerate Evraz for $2.3 billion
Freightliner announces layoffs of close to 800 employees
The Oregon Legislature greatly expands the Business Energy Tax Credit
2008
Widmer Bros. Brewing merges with Redhook Ale to create Craft Brewers Alliance
Hewlett-Packard builds a 500-employee call center in Beaverton
Precision Castparts becomes the second Oregon Fortune 500 company after Nike
Plummeting demand for steel drops Schnitzer Steel stock from $111.35 a share to $16.61
JP Morgan Chase acquires Washington Mutual for $1.9 billion
University of Oregon signs a $67 million deal with Oregon Sports Network and sports marketing company IMG Communications
14,100 jobs are lost in September, the worst monthly decline since 1981
2009
NOAA picks Newport for its Pacific operations center
Oregon timber harvest reaches its lowest levels since the Depression
Oregon unemployment reaches 11.6%, the highest rate in the state since the 1980s
G.I. Joe’s sporting goods chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Cascade Grain’s ethanol plant in Clatskanie files for bankruptcy
Portland-based LAIKA Entertainment releases its first feature-length movie, Coraline, which goes on to gross $120 million worldwide
Portland Timbers announces it will become the 18th Major League Soccer franchise in 2011
Oregon becomes the 7th state to legalize growing and processing industrial hemp
2010
Hollywood Video declares bankruptcy, closes all stores
San Francisco-based pharmaceutical Genentech builds a $400 million fill/finish and distribution plant in Hillsboro
Umpqua Holdings Corporation takes over Nevada Security Bank and California-based Silverado Bank
Intel announces multi-billion-dollar plans to build a new fab plant and retrofit two plants in Hillsboro
FDIC seizes Columbia River Bank, the fourth and largest bank in Oregon to fail
The failed Sunwest Management completes sale of 132 senior living facilities
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