Manufacturing

Landing a drone hub

Kootenai County growing autonomous-vehicle tech sector

April 7, 2016

Efforts are underway to lift the status of Kootenai County as a national hub for drone technology. Brad Ward, president of Hayden-based Empire Unmanned LLC, contends the Hayden, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, and Rathdrum area has a collaborative edge ov

Boeing cuts jobs to reduce prices

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April 7, 2016

Don Brunell

Boeing's new cost-reduction plan has deep ramifications for Washington because the bulk of the 4,500 job cuts are likely to land here. CEO Dennis Muilenburg asked investors to view the savings initiative as 'playing offense in a competitive marketpl

Holster maker Tedder Industries targets growth

Company sets its sights on move to Post Falls

February 25, 2016

Mike McLean

Thomas Tedder sees no signs that U.S. guns sales will decline anytime soon. That means his holster-making company, Tedder Industries, currently of Hayden, likely will enjoy strong growth for years to come, he says. The company had 30 employees when it mo

Zak Designs anticipates another record sales year

Release of new Star Wars helps to catapult revenues

December 17, 2015

LeAnn Bjerken

Zak Designs Inc., the Airway Heights-based dinnerware designer and manufacturer, says it's set to complete another record-breaking sales year. Last year, the company recorded the highest sales in its 40-year history, due in part to sales of items feat

Servatron inks its first contract in aerospace

Manufacturer says it has more projects in the works

December 17, 2015

Spokane Valley-based Servatron Inc. has entered the aerospace industry by signing a three-year contract with AvtechTyee, an Everett, Wash.-based manufacturer of electronic systems for the aerospace industry, to test and assemble that company's electroni

Inventors draw feedback from first Toolbox pitch event

Event sought to spotlight early-stage product ideas

November 19, 2015

LeAnn Bjerken

Five entrepreneurs pitched their ideas for various creative products at an event last week titled the Toolbox Pitch Panel that was held at and hosted by the Toolbox business incubator here. The envisioned products include an electric bicycle, an automoti

K&N Electric Motors keeps family business focus

CEO says bulk of its work is on dam, crane projects

October 8, 2015

LeAnn Bjerken

Committed to its role as a family-owned and -operated business, K&N Electric Motors Inc. is what company CEO Janet Schmidlkofer calls a happy setup. 'We're approached all the time about selling the company. So far we have no intentions of doing so,â€

Extreme Industrial Coatings pursues belt-grip patent

Upgrade touted to reduce wear, boost fuel efficiency

September 10, 2015

A West Plains business owner says he believes he's found the answer to the common industrial problem of rubberized belts slipping on pulley systems in heavy-duty machinery. Jon Osborne is the owner and president of Extreme Industrial Coatings Inc. (EIC

Parker Aerospace will close Liberty Lake plant

Shutdown date yet to be set, spokeswoman says

September 10, 2015

Cleveland-based Parker Aerospace, which bought the assets of SprayCool Data Systems Inc. in 2010, says it's shutting down its Liberty Lake facility, located at 2218 N. Molter. Company spokeswoman Alison Dittmeier says 30 employees currently work at th

Energizing innovation

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August 27, 2015

Linn Parish

Edmund O. Schweitzer III founded Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in 1984, and essentially from the beginning, the company has been growing rapidly. The 31-year-old, Pullman-based enterprise designs, manufactures, and supports products and services f