An Ohio-based truck parts manufacturer is closing its Tacoma and Seattle operations and laying off 115 workers.

Commercial Vehicle Group said the company will complete the shutdown by the end of the year and transfer activities to other United States plants.

The facilities produce interior trim items for heavy-duty trucks and boats. CVG spokesman John Hyre said 113 workers are employed at the Seattle plant at 701 S. Orchard St. and two are employed in the Tacoma warehouse at 401 Alexander Ave. on the Tideflats.

"The decision to close the Seattle (and Tacoma) operation was not easy," said Jerry Armstrong, president of CVG Global Truck. "We have contacted the employees as well as government and community leaders to explain the situation and why this step is necessary.

Hyre said the company has acquired several other operations in the last two years, and the closure is related to an effort to optimize the company's operations and make the best use of all its facilities.

The company said the cost of the shutdown will be about $3.2 million. CVG expects annual savings of $1.9 million beginning in 2008 from the realignment of facilities.

Weyerhaeuser Co. announced today it has agreed to sell its veneer factory in Elma to Murphy Co. of Eugene, Ore.

“We are pleased to reach mutually agreeable terms with Murphy Company” said Cathy Slater, vice president of Weyerhaeuser’s veneer technologies. “Our dedicated associates continue to safely operate the mill and meet our customer needs. We anticipate that the sale will be completed within the next 45 days.”

Terms weren’t disclosed. The facility, which has 60 workers, can produce 165 million square feet a year of 3/8-inch green and dry veneer.

Murphy Co. is a forest products company producing plywood and veneer. It recently announced it would start up an engineered wood facility in Sutherlin, Ore. this fall.

Indian gaming revenues in the Northwest rose nearly 14 percent last year to $2.08 billion, a report from the National Indian Gaming Commission says.

The region's tribal gambling revenue increase mirrored the national figures for Indian gaming results. Nationwide, total tribal gaming operations brought in $25.1 billion in 2006, up more than 11 percent from 2005.

The commission, which oversees tribal gaming operations, doesn't break down results by state or by tribe, but rather by region. The commission's Region 1, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, reported revenues of $2,080,337,000 from 45 operations in 2006. That's a 13.7 percent increase over $1.829 billion in revenues from 49 operations in 2005.

Nationwide, tribal gambling took in the most money, $7.67 billion, in the commission's Region II, California and Northern Nevada.

The highest growth region was Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas where 92 operations took in $2.12 billion, up 22.7 percent from the year before.

"The continued growth is eye-opening considering the tribal gaming industry is still relatively young," said Phil Hogen, the commission's chairman.

The non-Indian commercial gaming industry remains slighty larger than the Indian industry with revenues of $32.4 billion last year, according to the American Gaming Association. That non-Indian industry, however, grew more slowly, up 6.8 percent, than tribal operations last year.

Boeing's new product rollouts are an experience to behold. Part Disney, part Fourth of July parade, part Hollywood premiere.

And since Boeing doesn't want anyone to miss the debut of its 787 Dreamliner, it's outdoing itself for the auspicious July 8 (7-8-07) unveiling of the first example of what has become the most successful product Boeing has yet to produce.

Consider:

The company and the Seahawks will be holding a televised coming-out party for the 787 at Qwest Field. Boeing's 60,000-plus Washington employees have been invited as well as retirees and one guest per invitee. Seats are limited to 50,000, so reply soon.

A more exclusive group, airline customers and aviation journalists from around the world as well as key 787 workers will get to see the rollout (or roll-in as it more accurately should be called) first-hand. The painted first plane will be staged outside Boeing's Everett plant, and the giant doors will be rolled away to reveal the plane to the dignitaries inside.

The ceremonies will be broadcast both internally to other Boeing and supplier sites and to the public at large on DirectTV Channel 576 and DishNetwork, channel 9601.

The rollout is scheduled for mid-afternoon with the pre-rollout program starting a 3 p.m.