A longtime Spokane-based supplier of power tools and equipment for commercial contractors has changed its name to Edge Construction Supply and has sold its scaffold division.


Rick Thomas, owner and chairman of the company, says that the business, formerly known as Safway Supply Inc., originally was named after the Safway brand of scaffold it long distributed.


The company, which was founded by his father in 1949, grew a second division focused on tools and supplies that eventually outgrew the scaffold side of the business, Thomas says.


Despite the local companys growth and longevity, many customers pronounced its old name incorrectly, and those who pronounced it correctly often confused it with the Safeway Inc. grocery chain, Thomas says.


Also, the scaffold division, while still profitable, had brought in a minor fraction of the companys overall revenue in recent years, he says.


We decided the future for us is in tool and supply, Thomas says.


The company sold its scaffold division in February to a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp AG, of Dusseldorf, Germany, which operates an outlet here under the name ThyssenKrupp Safeway Inc., at 15 N. Perry.


As part of the agreement, they wanted the Safway name, Thomas says. We thought it was a good time to change our name.


Seven months later, Edge Construction Supply was chosen as the new name for the business. The companys corporate headquarters is at 1503 E. Riverside, where it operates out of a 50,000-square-foot building with a 20,000-square-foot yard.


Edge Construction Supply has seven other locations in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming. The company employs about 75 workers.


Thomas declines to disclose revenues, but says he anticipates revenue from sales of tools and supplies will increase by 15 percent to 18 percent this year.