Global manufacturer plans West Plains plant

A global manufacturing company soon may set up shop on the West Plains, creating an economic boon to the tune of 300 to 400 new jobs.

The Spokane County Board of Commissioners today approved the sale of over 80 acres of airport land on the West Plains to Runway Property Holding Co. LLC, a company formed by a global building materials manufacturing company.

“This new entity that we will be selling 82 acres to will be bringing several hundred jobs to the market,” says Spokane County Commissioner Al French. “It’s going to be a big win.”

French declines to disclose the identity of the international company. However, the principal address listed on the Washington Secretary of State filing for Runway Property Holding Co. is the same as the address for the U.S. headquarters of Soprema Inc., in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Founded in 1908, Strasbourg, France-based Soprema has a presence in over 90 countries worldwide and offers a comprehensive line of commercial roofing, waterproofing, wall protection, and civil engineering products and services.

Pending approval from the Spokane City Council, the surplus airport land will be sold to Runway Property Holding for $5.95 million, Spokane International Airport CEO Larry Krauter said in a briefing this morning.

French says he expects the city will approve the sale.

“This company was specifically looking for a place to manufacture and distribute from in the northwestern part of the United States,” Krauter said.

The proposed West Plains manufacturing site is located at the southeast corner of the McFarlane and Craig roads intersection, just west of Parker Aerospace’s Exotic Metals Forming facilities and just north of the airport’s rail-truck transload facility.

French says the global company will bring “at least two subsidiaries, maybe three” to the West Plains site.

Bringing in an international company provides stability to the local economy, French says.

“A company like this will also generate more business for the other businesses that are already here,” he says. “They’re going to require supplies; they’re going to require a number of different other trades.”

Runway Property Holding requires access to rail services to import materials and would bring in an estimated 1,000 rail cars per year, Krauter told commissioners.

The proximity to the airport’s transload facility was a primary factor in attracting Runway Property Holding to the West Plains site, French adds.

“We’re already talking to businesses that want to be located on the transload facility,” French says.

The revenue from the pending land sale will be considered unrestricted cash that the airport can use primarily for its nongrant-funded capital improvement projects, Krauter said.

He added the company had moved on from this site at one point as it was considering other locations, but French maintained contact and “brought them back to the table.”

“We’re excited about their investment, excited about the job-creation aspects, as well as the enhancement of the property,” Krauter said.