Burly Products, a Spokane Valley metal fabricator and machinery maker, plans to move its operation to Post Falls by the end of the year, saying Idaho will provide it a more favorable business climate, the Idaho state Department of Commerce says on its Web site.

Representatives at Burly Products couldn't be reached for comment, but the Idaho state agency says the company is having a $1.5 million facility built for it in the Riverbend Commerce Park, in Post Falls, that will give it more than twice as much space as it has now.

The Department of Commerce says Burly Products employs 16 people and currently is located in a 7,000-square-foot building, in Spokane Valley, at 12009 E. Empire.

The company makes aluminum boats and boat parts, architectural railings, and truck bodies, and also does general fabrication work, the department says. Its new facility will be a 20,000-square-foot concrete block structure at 1090 S. Clearwater Loop, it says.

TW Construction Services LLC, of Spokane, is the general contractor for the building project, says Russell Cornell, building official for the city of Post Falls. Labar Architecture Inc., of Spokane, is the architect, Cornell says.

In a news posting on the Department of Commerce's Web site, Ross Schlotthauer, who owns Burly Products with Neil Malam, said, "I'm from Post Falls, live in Post Falls, and want to do business in Post Falls. It's a more favorable climate for business than in Washington."

Burly Products, which opened in January 2006, will be able to save on health and product-liability insurance, payroll taxes, and workers' compensation insurance, Schlotthauer said on the Web site.

The company's new, single-story facility will have 18,000 square feet of manufacturing space, and the rest of the building's space will be used for offices, the Web site says. Schlotthauer said there that the bigger facility will allow the company to bring in some work that is currently outsourced.

"We'll have better control over our products and be able to cut some costs," Schlotthauer said. "It will also allow us to be more responsive to our customers."

"We've had steady growth (both with volume and employees) since we started," Schlotthauer said.

"We had hit a plateau based on the economy, but we've diversified our products, and we're starting to go into a growth mode again. I suspect over the next few years of operating in Post Falls that we'll bring on more people," he said.