K-L Manufacturing, a contract apparel manufacturer, will take advantage of the Community Empowerment Zone (CEZ) incentive when it adds 30,000-square-feet with a $1.9 million expansion. Twelve new employees will be hired and the company will receive a waiver on the sales and use tax on qualifying purchases of machinery, equipment and construction. The annual economic impact is $2.97 million.
KL was launched in 1932 by Hazel Kemmery, and remained small until after the Doohan family bought the business in 1968, doubled the size of the building on Monroe and began exploring other markets, including outerwear and sports apparel for customers worldwide.
After years of contraction in the sewing manufacturing industry, some remaining sewing manufacturers here are seeing a resurgence in sales and employment growth, and others are looking at setting up operations in the Inland Northwest, some industry sources say.
More growth in the sewing manufacturing industry could be on the horizon, says Jim Koon, a commercial real estate broker at the Coeur d’Alene office of NAI Black. Jim says he’s fielded other inquiries from sewing manufacturers seeking space in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area. “In conversations, they say that sector is growing,” he says. “They need additional space, and they need to hire more employees.”
2014
