TECH TERROIR
When folks reference Oregon’s Silicon Forest, they’re often thinking of Portland. But an hour south of the city, a growing tech scene has emerged in a lesser-known gem. With world-class amenities, wine, university, companies, and workforce, everything you need for your business and family to thrive is waiting for you in McMinnville.
It was 2012 when Mark Newman decided to take a chance and start a business.
Newman was going on six years as the director of a laboratory in Beaverton but had built a working relationship with a lab doing bioanalytical work an hour’s drive southwest, in McMinnville. When the bioanalytic lab closed, Newman and his wife decided it was time to see if he could run more than a lab, but an entire company.
“It was super unintentional. I'd put it in the providential category,” Newman said. “It initiated the conversation for us, like, ‘Oh, hey, maybe it’s time to do your own thing.’ And it just so happened to be in my wife’s hometown of McMinnville.”
Now Precision Analytical, the hormone testing and reporting laboratory Newman founded in the former bioanalytical lab space, employs 110 people in northeast McMinnville. It’s been particularly busy during the pandemic, conducting lab analyses for healthcare providers and patients.