Acme Machine Works Inc., a Spokane Valley company that designs and builds huge pieces of equipment for the aluminum industry, has spent nearly $2 million to double its floor space and also plans to hire additional workers.


Dennis McManus, who owns Acme Machine Works along with his brother, Don, says the company has purchased a 40,000-square-foot building, at 6120 E. Sharp, that it will use for additional fabrication work.


Its other longtime fabrication shop and the companys offices are located about a half-mile to the east at 1220 N. Bradley, he says.


The building on Sharp, which was built in 1996, formerly housed VPI Quality Windows Inc. That company moved its operations base last spring to larger quarters at 3420 E. Ferry, in Spokane.


Acme Machine Works primarily makes equipment for the aluminum industry, including primary producers of the metal and casting and forging facilities, McManus says.


Acme will build sow-casting equipment in its new building. Acmes sow-casters are massive automated machines that mold large aluminum ingots, which typically weigh about 1,500 pounds, he says.


Sow is an industry term for large ingots, he says. Smaller ingots are called pigs.


We only build one or two a year, but they are so big we need more space, McManus says of the sow-casting machines, each of which takes up 20,000 square feet of floor space when fully assembled.


Acmes biggest current customer for sow-casting machines is Sohar Aluminum, a smelting company based in the country of Oman on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula.


Such work accounts for most of Acme Machine Works overall business.


A third of our business is contract fabricating and machining for other companies, he says. That part of the business is growing fast.


Because of that, McManus says Acme also plans to dedicate more of its space at its 36,000-square-foot facility on Bradley to contract fabrication.


He declines to disclose the companys annual revenues, but says they have increased annually throughout most of the companys 54-year history.


Acme recently hired five new employees, bringing its work force to 30, McManus says. He adds that the company plans to hire another five workers thanks to the expansion.


Doug Byrd, of Byrd Real Estate Group LLC, handled transaction involving the Sharp Avenue structure.


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