Business Success Stories

The City of Milwaukie is committed to the success of its business partners. Here are some of those success stories and why these businesses call Milwaukie home.

Bob's Red Mill
Bob Moore of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods is one of the most well-known faces around Milwaukie. A fixture in the city for two decades, Bob's unique enterprise is the most recognized landmark in town - and with Bob's likeness sketched into the company logo, he's our foremost public figure.

Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics, the Northwest's largest comics and entertainment publisher, began when Milwaukie native Mike Richardson invested his profits from an already successful chain of comic bookstores into a new enterprise to take comic publishing to the next level. His idea, novel at the time, was that perhaps if illustrators owned their own work and had some creative control, the quality of comics might improve.

Oregon Cutting Systems
The world's leading manufacturer of cutting chain, guide bars, and accessories for chainsaws and mechanical timber harvesters, Oregon Cutting Systems (OCS) moved into its first bona fide manufacturing plant in Milwaukie at 9701 SE McLoughlin during 1955. Then called Oregon Saw Chain Manufacturing Corp., the company moved from the founder's basement to a 5,000-square-foot Portland garage and, finally, to their current 300,000+ square-foot Milwaukie facility.

Moda (formerly Oregon Dental Services)
When The ODS Companies, an Oregon-based dental and medical insurer, ran up against space limitations at its ODS Tower in Portland in the late 1990s, the company began to search for additional office space in the surrounding area. A key factor in its search was locating an adequate facility within 15 minutes of downtown Portland.

Precision Castparts Corporation
A major Milwaukie employer for 50 years, Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) initially joined the city's business community in 1955 with 40 employees in one building. Today, the global castings manufacturer employs over 1,000 in Milwaukie and many more worldwide.
 

Providence Milwaukie Hospital
An award-winning, full-service medical facility, Providence Milwaukie Hospital was established in 1986 when Oregon's Providence Health System acquired the former Dwyer Community Hospital at 10150 SE 32nd Ave.