By MIKE WILLIAMS
For CRBJ
MENLO — Willapa Marine’s ability to create a niche for itself gives the family-run business an edge in the competitive market.
Father and daughter team Steve Evertson and Lora Sanchez offer clamming supplies, crab and shrimp pots, a bait program and salmon nets, to mention a few products. They manufacture about 50 percent of the products and import about 40 percent.
He started in his garage by making PVC clam guns in 1988. The Dennis Company and Yard Birds were early customers. The company began offering clam shovels, bags, nets and metal clam guns.
When Sanchez returned from college she found job prospects limited. Evertson saw the potential of the business and invited his daughter to join the effort. They bought a crab pot manufacturer in Aberdeen to expand the product line.
A rented space was home for several years. They built the current facility in 2002.
The company grew to meet demand. Product development and innovation are driven by customers, Evertson said. As their product line grew, it soon outstripped their manufacturing capacity.
“It got to the point that there was no way we could manufacture everything that our customers wanted,” Lora said.
The company’s biggest competition comes from imports of products it manufactures, she said. To combat that, Willapa Marine puts an emphasis on superior quality, Made in the USA products. The company created a niche for itself by offering a wide variety of products.
“A lot of people might have just the clamming [and] a few items here and a few items there,” she said. “We try to be complete in the clamming, crabbing, shrimping categories.”
Willapa Marine’s ability to manufacture pots, traps and a host of other products gives Evertson, who handles sales, advantage over imports.
“A lot of the import, you have to do such a large volume to import anything,” Sanchez said. “You can’t just bring in a thousand of something. So that gives us an advantage. We can make just a few hundred. You don’t have to be able to produce 10,000 of them to do it.”
Family affair
Evertson is pleased to have his family involved in the business. He’s president of the company. Sanchez is vice president and oversees operations, buying and billing. Her husband, Rich, keeps production and shipping on track. Evertson’s daughter Donna Pedrazzetti processes orders from Amazon.com.
Despite his title of founder and president, Evertson defers to Sanchez when it comes to running the business.
“She’s the boss,” he said. “You have to have somebody who has the final say.”
Where to buy
Their products can be found in sporting goods stores from California to Alaska, including Cabela’s, West Marine, SportCo, Fisherman’s Marine, Big Rock Sports and Bass Pro Shops.
They don’t have a retail store, but they offer online sales through the company’s website and Amazon.com. Their main business is on the West Coast, but they ship across the country.
Shipping & handling
Evertson and Sanchez are committed to the picturesque Willapa Valley, but the location, 40 miles from I-5, can be a challenge when it comes to shipping.
“It’s hard to get competitive rates here,” Sanchez said. “We’re so far off I-5.”
It’s more costly and some shippers will only travel to the area only once a week or less.
“There’ll be stuff that will sit here for a week, sometimes two weeks because the trucks won’t come down here to get it,” Sanchez said.
They prepay shipping on orders of $2,000 or more, but buyers pay freight on smaller orders.
“It’s one of the toughest things, keeping the margin where it needs to be so you can be profitable,” Evertson added.
The classic
Clam guns remain among the top items the company sells. Even competitors buy the company’s clam guns, Evertson said.
Complete crab pot kits are also popular. They include the pot, 100 feet of line, a crab buoy, line weight, bait box and crab gauge.
Crawfish traps are also popular.
The bait program started two years ago with two products, Sanchez said. Now they offer pellets, gel and liquid crab and shrimp bait in a variety of sizes.
Recession resistant
Willapa Marine came through the recession with no problems.
“Guys still went fishing, guys still went crabbing,” Evertson said. “It didn’t affect us there.”
The closure of the clamming season and the delay in the crab season in December however, hurt the business, he said. California orders usually make Fall a big season, but they took a hit in 2015.
“We were having the best year we ever had,” Sanchez said. “Then it tanked. Because clamming was closed, California crabbing closed and still hasn’t reopened. This was the first time that nothing was open.”
They had to lay off the workers. Things are starting to return to normal.
Willapa Marine plans to expand in the summer. The company needs more space for imported products. A 40-foot container full of product creates a log jam in the warehouse and makes preparing shipping pallets difficult, Sanchez said.
Not for sale
They’ve had offers to buy the business, but they prefer to keep it in the family. Sanchez’s son has worked in the business, as have two nephews.
“If I didn’t have Lora or some family involved in it, just me, at my age I’d sell,” Evertson said. “But since the family wants to, we’re going to stay here and keep doing it.”
Owners: Steve Evertson, Lora Sanchez
Location: Willapa Valley
Established: 1988
Employees: Seven full-time and part-time
Products: Clamming, shrimping and crabbing supplies to name a few
Web Address: willapamarineproducts.com
Phone: 360-942-2151