ACI Coatings LLC plans to expand its services with a new 12,000-square-foot shop building that will be dedicated to pre-finishing woodwork and will double the Spokane Valley painting contractors current space, says Mike Kirschbaum, the companys sales manager. The company also plans to hire additional workers.


The new pre-finishing shop will be housed in an $800,000 steel building that Spokane Structures Inc., of Spokane, has designed and is constructing for ACI Coatings at 11406 E. Montgomery, about a half-mile west of Pines Road, Kirschbaum says. Equipment thats to be installed in the new shop will cost another $200,000, he says.


The pre-finishing shop will allow ACI Coatings customers, most of whom are residential and commercial building contractors, to have finish applied to woodwork, such as doors, frames, molding, and cabinetry before they install it, he says.


Traditionally, ACI Coatings has stained and finished such woodwork after its been installed, a process which is generally more expensive and time consuming than pre-finishing, he says.


Now, well be able to do it in the shop, Kirschbaum says. That will result in time savings for the contractor.


The shop also will be open to the public, he says, adding, A lot of people ask us to finish wood furniture.


ACI Coatings, which also applies paints and coatings to most other types of surfaces, will continue to operate in two other buildings it owns at 402 N. Lake, a few blocks south of Broadway Avenue and east of Fancher Road, Kirschbaum says. It occupies a 5,000-square-foot office building and a 6,000-square-foot shop building there.


Kirschbaum says ACI Coatings employs 32 people, and he expects the company will hire six additional employees due to the business expansion. While ACI Coatings has seen a slowdown in work from some of its regular customers, new customers have more than made up the difference, he says.


The sales volume so far this year is at the same pace as last year, Kirschbaum says, and we have a considerable amount of work lined up to do.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.