Spokane Industries Inc., a longtime manufacturer in Spokane Valley, says that after a shaky start to the decade, it now is breaking sales records, hiring more people, and forging a place among the top steel foundries in the U.S.


Spokane Industries new contracts with big manufacturing companies, as well as improvements its making to equipment and work-flow processes, have resulted in business growth thats almost as hot as the 10,000-pound payloads of molten iron that are poured into molds at its foundry every day.


Weve been through some tough times, but we chose to continue to invest in our plant, says Greg Tenold, the companys president. Now, were taking advantage of opportunities in the marketplace, and in the past year, business has been skyrocketing like crazy in our foundry.


Spokane Industries total revenues grew to $26.5 million last year, up from about $21 million in 2004, Tenold says. To keep pace with rising sales volumes, the company hired 90 employees in 2005, bringing its work force to 250 employees. It expects revenues will grow by about 25 percent this year, and although it doesnt anticipate hiring as many employees as it did last year, it always is looking to hire certified welders, he says.


As the job market tightens in the Spokane area, the company has been hiring people who have moved from other parts of the country to work here, says Tyrus Tenold, its vice president.


Were having a difficult time hiring right now, because the job market in manufacturing isnt as flush as it was, Tenold says. But we still see a booming economy ahead.


The company was founded here in 1952 by the late John Tenold, and currently is owned by three of his sons, Robert, Greg, and Tyrus. It operates out of four buildings, with a total of 250,000 square feet of space, at the Spokane Business & Industrial Park, in Spokane Valley.


Most of the companys recent growth has been centered in its oldest, largest division, called Spokane Steel Foundry Co., Greg Tenold says. Spokane Steel Foundry constitutes about 75 percent of the companys total business. Revenues in that division, which traditionally has focused on manufacturing wear parts, or replacement teeth for rock crushers, rose by 35 percent last year, and Tenold expects similar growth this year.


Although the wear-parts market has been performing strongly, most of Spokane Steel Foundrys growth has stemmed from a $5 million plant, called a no-bake molding line, that it bought and had shipped here from Italy in 1999, says Robert Tenold, the companys chairman. The molding-line equipment includes computer-operated machinery that makes large pieces of equipment that can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, Robert Tenold says. Those pieces, which are made of iron or steel alloys, are cast in large molds that contain a mix of chemically-bonded sand. The pieces are then shipped to customers to be assembled into products such as large mechanized shovels and drills used by the mining industry.


The plant, which takes up a sizable space in Spokane Steel Foundrys 120,000-square-foot complex, allows the company to create castings it wasnt able to make previously, he says. That added capacity has opened up new markets for the company, primarily in energy-related industries such as oil and underground coal mining. For instance, Spokane Industries has landed contracts with Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Inc.; Tokyo, Japan-based Hitachi Ltd.; and Milwaukee, Wis.-based Joy Global Inc., all of which manufacture mining-related products.


We made a conscious effort to go after the mining industry and energy-related products, Tyrus Tenold says. The price of oil is going up, and energy is a focal point in the economy.


While the company might have foreseen growth in energy-related industries back in 1999 when it bought the new equipment, it didnt anticipate the economic recession that began shortly thereafter, he says. By the time the global economy started picking up speed last year, a sizable number of U.S. foundries had closed, resulting in a nearly 50 percent loss in the nations steel producing capacity, he says. Meanwhile, countries such as China began investing heavily in their infrastructure, creating new demands for heavy manufacturing equipment.


Thats when Spokane Steel Foundrys no-bake molding line really started paying off, Tyrus Tenold says. Its one of the few foundries in the U.S. that can produce the large castings manufacturers need to make heavy machinery thats used at mining sites around the world, he says. Steel foundry closures across the U.S. sparked increased interest in the foundry here for other manufacturing needs as well, he says.


Its time to start using the things weve invested in, Tyrus Tenold says. Were picking up business that we might not have been in the position to pick up without our new equipment.


Spokane Steel Foundry also has been implementing a lean-manufacturing strategy to improve its work-flow efficiency, Greg Tenold says. It started the transition to lean manufacturing about two years ago, he says. As part of that effort, the foundry has been dividing its complex into whats called work cells to move parts more quickly through production.


Although Spokane Steel Foundrys business is glowing red hot, the companys other two divisions also have been growing significantly, Greg Tenold says. Those divisions, which also are located in the industrial park, are examples of the companys efforts to diversify its metal-related products and markets, he says.


One of those divisions is Spokane Metal Products. It started in 1978 and has manufactured stainless steel tanks used by the agricultural and beverage industries, but now also has an aviation subdivision. He says products made by that aviation unit are really taking off, and have been bought by customers that include Boeing Co., the U.S. Air Force, and the Australian Air Force.


One of those products is a refueler for general aviation aircraft, helicopters, and emergency-response airplanes that the company started selling last year, Tyrus Tenold says. That product, the HandiFueler, is a compact, stainless steel tank and fuel-transfer system that can be mounted on trailers and carts, and can refuel aircraft that have fuel capacities of up to 1,300 gallons.


Another product the division makes, called the SealVac Fuel Drain System, is a vacuum defueler that the company has been producing for many years but recently redesigned, he says. The vacuum defueler provides direct vacuum-powered connections to conventional fuel drains on planes, and can drain up to four fuel valves simultaneously. Boeing has ordered six of the defuelers in the last six months, and uses them to reduce airplane defueling times from more than three hours to less than 30 minutes.


Spokane Industries other division, Spokane Precision Casting, was formed in 1991. It is a foundry that works with much smaller productssome weigh only a few ouncesthat include stainless steel parts for dental chairs and small hand tools.


The company is considering ways to diversify its products further and keep its new customers, but it also continues to rely on the customers it has served for half a century, Greg Tenold says.


Contact Emily Brandler at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyb@spokanejournal.com.