Have you ever imagined your morning commute to work including an entire snow-caped mountain range peaking in your windshield, over the treetops to welcome you daily?  All Watson products are manufactured at the Orchard, a 34 acre forested headquarters in the Pacific Northwest, where they have been located for about 10 years.  The property includes a beautiful ½ mile walking trail for lunch breaks, natural grasses that are only mowed a couple times a year, and a view of the mountains in Olympic National Park. Lisa Hope, my tour guide & Marketing expert, says “Being in the shadow of the Olympics is a constant reminder of the importance of being responsible manufacturers.”  They take great pride in maintaining a culture of continuous improvement that encompasses all aspects of their business, from product design to manufacturing and customer service to management. The facility employs about 150 shop workers with admin offices on the 2^nd floor.

MRL had the opportunity to tour the facility this fall, and was amazed at the emphasis on passionate, talented employees…detailing the products by hand and really focusing on quality!

Each of Watson’s product lines are engineered for unmatched simplicity, beauty and durability. Their design process revolves around users’ needs and sustainable manufacturing processes; engineering products to meet the need of large clients like Nike and Boeing.  The in-house design team will handle everything from space planning to specifying and creating unique design aspects to meet the customer’s requests such as a raw edge and weld burn + splatter.

The Watson belief is “We should return this world in better condition than we found it. We adhere to the concept of Practical Environmentalism in which our aggressive pursuit to minimize impact on our planet is achieved within a disciplined structure of environmental and financial accountability.”

Take a moment to tour the facility and experience the Watson culture:

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Tour the Watson Products in their binder.