Tate Technology, Inc. of Spokane Valley has a successful legacy and continues to innovate.

By Jennifer Ferrero

Early in Scott Tate’s career, he had trepidation about sales. After earning an engineering degree, he viewed sales as involving cold calling and door-to-door product pushing. However, early in his career he learned that sales could be about solving problems for the customer. This problem-solving approach, deeply ingrained in the company’s culture, has been a key to its success. “In the engineering and technical landscape, it is not sales, it is problem solving. I quickly realized I really enjoyed solving problems instead of sitting in front of a computer all day.” This perspective removed his trepidation about the sales aspect of business. His dad took notice. When his father decided to retire, they took time to transition Scott into company leadership and ownership. In fact, the process took approximately seven years, during which Scott paid off a loan for 51% ownership before his father’s retirement.

“He and I didn’t run the company the same way, but we had the same customer philosophy.” In 2007, they had 17 employees; now, they have 59 employees. In 2019, they made a strategic move to a new location on Sprague Avenue, across from Costco, in Spokane Valley. This location, while more conducive to retail and taxed as such, is also a good central location for employees. Scott said the location is excellent because many employees can drive down Sprague instead of driving on the freeway in winter weather, which has improved employee satisfaction and productivity.

The company, founded in 1992, provides electronics manufacturing and complex circuit board assembly services. Scott said they also manufacture switches for stoplights, climate control systems, fire alarms, and security monitoring systems. However, they have experience working in the aerospace and space industries, including prototypes and CubeSat projects. They also work with national laboratories and the armed forces.

Scott is intrigued by the space industry and said, “We aren’t currently doing any CubeSats, but we have our eyes open.” He shared how much they learned about the vacuum of space and its “violent atmosphere.” Space exposes electronics to tremendous conditions. “A lot of things you wouldn’t normally think about, we learned a lot. If I could find that work, we would be suited to do it. Product cleanliness is a huge component of this type of work. We didn’t have the wash systems that could do it (at that time), but now we have the best wash system in the business.” This adaptability and readiness to invest in the best technology positions them to handle even the most challenging projects.

One project involves their customer Matt King at Global Navigation Sciences, supporting commercial and military aerospace work. The featured products are in-flight iPad charging and lighting equipment. King said they’ve worked with Tate Technology for eight years on PCB assembly. This long-term relationship is a testament to Tate’s reliability and commitment to their clients. He said Tate offers, “Good value and great customer interface on new products.” King said he refers Tate Technology because of their “good value and great customer service.” He added that PCB and electronics assembly companies are “dwindling in the U.S.”

Scott noted that what sets them apart from the competition is the investment in the technology and in the facility. “Typically, when you are a smaller contractor, because our margins are low, you don’t always have the best equipment available.” In the case of Tate Technology, he remarked that they are an anomaly. “We literally have the equipment such that we can build any electronics. It is unique; we don’t shy away from the complex and the challenging,” he said of their projects. His Achilles heel is, “I don’t like saying no.” His objective is always asking how they can solve a customer problem while being at the leading edge of technology.

Another customer, Tony Tanis, C.P.M., a senior buyer with Wizard International, Inc., has worked with Tate Technology for 15 years – about as long as he’s been with his company. He said they are in the picture framing industry, producing computerized mat cutters, which are CNC machines used for cutting the decorative mats in picture frames.

Tanis said Tate Technology makes an electronic control unit (ECU) and produces discrete printed circuit boards (PCBAs) for Wizard. He added that they’ve realized cost savings in working with them: “Tate Technology, by providing DFM guidance, was integral to a significant savings project in which we replaced the open market sourced stepper motor drivers used in our ECUs with drivers designed internally and produced by Tate.”

He refers Tate to others and said they are on a short list of suppliers “whom I have complete trust in their quality and integrity.”

This quality and integrity serve them well across a variety of industries:

• Utilities
• Aerospace
• Medical
• Oceanography
• Space
• Military
• Industrial automation
• Consumer products
• Transportation
• Traffic & pedestrian safety
• Communications

Developing the business for over 33 years has been achieved through a concerted effort. Transitioning to a generational business can be fraught with difficulty, but Scott said they were able to do it well. He cited how many companies, with delayed communication about an ownership transition, can fail. He observed, if the question isn’t asked about what the transition plan is, without a transition being put into place, many will close their doors. Or, if the wrong buyer is picked, Scott asked, will the owner have enough gas in their tank to move toward another sale?

While Scott isn’t ready to make the transition out of the business, he has his eyes on what makes the business valuable for a sale. Now they are invested in technology, quality, and customer service. He said the bulk of the company is in production, with billable hours allocated to the production staff. “If you are too overhead heavy, it can affect your bottom line.” He has developed staff with leadership skills within their managers and supervisors, and “one of the best controllers on the planet.” He said he is ready for more growth as it comes.

Finally, Scott invests time in customer relationships, and it’s his favorite part of the job. “The customer interaction — I am a problem solver, not just as an engineer — engaging with the customer to understand their needs and how it aligns with our capabilities, it’s what motivates me.” He recently had a customer visit their factory to take a tour and learn about electronic manufacturing. “We went through the processes and technical challenges. They now have the education to understand the lead times and will have depth of understanding; my job is to empower the customer with information. If I can educate you on the basics of electronic manufacturing, then if we can’t meet the needs on delivery, they can understand it.”

Scott added, “When customers learn we have some of the best equipment and processes in the industry — the toys we have and solutions we’ve implemented — ” (which he said are not usually seen in this size of business), “They are surprised to see the equipment and bells and whistles; we have really invested in our company the last five years and it shows.”

After over three decades of business in Spokane Valley, Tate Technology is poised to grow with top technology, a focus on customer satisfaction, and employee growth.