INSIDE: SUNDAY FEATURES, PUZZLES, DEAR ABBY, HOROSCOPE
C
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • SUNday, aUgUST 21, 2022
bendbulletin.com/business
Expion360’s green energy
POWER PACKED
Dean Guernsey/Bulletin file
Chris Finlaw processes lithium batteries at Expion360 in Redmond on July 14.
How a camping trip led to one of Central Oregon’s biggest companies
BY MICHAEL KOHN • The Bulletin
I
t’s said that necessity is the mother of invention. That old catchphrase couldn’t be nearer to the truth for John Yozamp.
Yozamp is the founder of Expion360 Inc., a publicly held lithium battery company based in Redmond. Prior to Expion360, he co-founded solar panel
producer Zamp Solar, one of Bend’s most exciting tech companies.
But before all that success there was a restless night
at Little Lava Lake. Thirteen years ago, Yozamp, at the
time a sales and marketing manager, was on a sum-
mertime RV camping trip with his wife at the lake.
After setting up camp and having an evening meal, he
switched on his CPAP machine, a device that treats
sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a disorder that occurs when a person
starts and stops breathing while sleeping. If left un-
treated, sleep apnea can result in high blood pressure
and heart trouble, and is even fatal, so a machine is
used to help regulate airflow through the nasal passage.
Unsurprisingly, Yozamp took the machine everywhere
he went. But lack of electricity at Little Lava Lake was
expected, so Yozamp brought along a Honda generator
to power the device. You can almost guess what hap-
pened next.
“At 2 a.m. a fellow camper came over and knocked
on my door. He asked if I could power down my gen-
erator. I explained it was for the sleep apnea machine,”
said Yozamp. “The next day I told my wife I have to
have a different solution for powering the machine.”
A search for quieter power options led Yozamp to
the solar panel market. The unit Yozamp bought was
good, but it seemed overpriced and didn’t offer much
in the way of customer service.
See Yozamp / C2
Lithium battery producer Expion360 plans an expansion in Redmond.
COLUMN
Work-ready means more than earning a degree
BY KATY BROOKS
Bend Chamber of Commerce
My twins are off to college,
which brought this topic to
the forefront for me along
with so many other parents
hoping their children not only
get great training or education
this coming year, but also get
what they need to be prepared
for their careers. As the CEO
of the Bend Chamber, I also
care a lot about whether those
coming out of the trades and
higher education are ready to
go to work.
I spoken with many em-
ployers who are saying that
there are essentials missing in
many new job candidates —
namely soft skills. Adaptable
interpersonal and social skills,
specifically. Educators are also
homing in on how to prepare
students for careers that in-
clude interacting with others.
Employers want their em-
ployees not only to know how
to do the job, but how to work
with others. They want em-
ployees to be productive, cre-
ative and consistent to prosper
INSIDE
BUSINESS
By Katy Brooks
in a dynamic marketplace. But
they can’t achieve this if em-
ployees lack the skills to work
together and with their cus-
tomers and partners.
The 2022 State of Oregon
Talent Assessment Report
showed that “30% of indus-
tries said their employees
weren’t fully proficient due to
specific occupational skills, in-
terpersonal skills or work ex-
perience.”
A great example of what
this looks like on the ground is
within the tech industry. Many
tech employers are weighing
higher education credentials
against what they need in
baseline proficiency and the
ability of employees to learn,
adapt and change at the pace
of their industry.
Many other industries are
balancing the need to find
employees who have strong
interpersonal skills and social
adaptability. Employers in re-
tail and other service indus-
tries are completely reliant on
employees who have well-de-
veloped soft skills.
Matt Ertle, owner and stra-
tegic partner at PrideStaff,
an employment placement
company in Bend, believes it
is critical to understand the
business perspective of what
can help prepare students for
success.
“Employers see first-hand
how the education experi-
ence and the work experience
match up”, he says.
He recently shared what he
believes are the fundamental
basics of whether a person is
employable, and how indi-
viduals can outperform their
peers in the workforce. Er-
tle’s list may seem very basic,
but in today’s workplace, the
value of these skills has grown
significantly in over the past
decade or so. And no matter
what industry a person enters,
these skills matter.
See Work-ready / C2