The Composite Recycling Technology Center created about 2,300 commemorative coins for Gov. Jay Inslee’s inauguration last week. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)

PORT ANGELES — The Composite Recycling Technology Center created about 2,300 commemorative coins for Gov. Jay Inslee’s inauguration last week. The coins, made of 16 layers of recycled aerospace-quality carbon fiber, were a gift to the state from the CRTC, said Bob Larsen, its CEO.  ​

On one side of the coin is a photo of Inslee. The other side features the state.  “It was another first for Washington state and Port Angeles that we were able to produce something like this for the governor’s inauguration,” he said.  “It’s a high-tech example of the ability of this material to be shaped and formed to most anything.”  

Larsen said the state reached out to the CRTC in November. Over the course of one day, CRTC officials decided it was possible to produce the coins.  Now, officials hope to make similar products the CRTC could sell, he said.
“This concept has been so well-received, we’re actually thinking about something similar to this and turning it into a product we could customize for people,” he said.  Larsen also plans to make similar coins with CRTC branding that can be handed out during trade shows.

The state previously gave the CRTC a $1.7 million grant that was matched by the Port of Port Angeles over 2015, 2016 and 2017.
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Inslee was at the groundbreaking for the CRTC in 2015.
“We’re grateful to the state for believing in us and investing in us,” Larsen said. “This is another example of how we’re leveraging local and state money to attract even more resources.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.

Visitors to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office Wednesday received a special token of appreciation when they dropped by for a public open house following his inaugural address.You can’t spend these tokens, but they are worth a lot to our state.

Inaugural carbon fiber tokens, produced by the Composite Recycling Technology Center in Port Angeles, Wash. (Official Governor’s Office Photo)Produced in Port Angeles from aerospace carbon fiber composite scrap diverted from landfills, these little discs help showcase how Washington state is leading the world in developing innovative green technology that is both good for the environment and the economy.

The Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) in Port Angeles is the first facility in the world to transform uncured carbon fiber composite scrap into new products. CRTC is pioneering manufacturing processes that will make it easier to recycle and create high-performance, low-cost products from this material.

The tokens are truly a statewide effort. They were produced through a partnership among five Washington State manufacturers:
• Composite Recycling Technology Center, Port Angeles
• Toray Composites America, Tacoma
• Flow Waterjet Americas, Kent
• Players Technical, Bellingham
• ProGraphics, Bellingham

The recipient of two Washington State Clean Energy Fund awards, CRTC has also received funding from the Port of Port Angeles, Clallam County and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Toray Composites America provides the carbon fiber composite scrap material.
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Gov. Jay Inslee and David Walter, COO, Composite Recycling Technology Center at the Inaugural Ball with the Inaugural Tokens.  These commemorative inauguration tokens — and other products being developed at CRTC — are proof that strong public-private partnerships in clean technology can create huge impact for Washington.

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