Isothermal Systems Research Inc., a Liberty Lake-based company that has said it expects to grow to 1,000 employees in the next five years from 200 currently, has taken a step to prepare for that growth by leasing space in an adjacent building for expansion.


Within the next few months ISR will bring 20 new hires into about 10,000 square feet of floor space it recently leased in a 20,000-square-foot building owned by Pring Corp., of Spokane Valley, says Jeff Severs, president of ISR.


The new space, located less than 100 yards north of ISRs leased 47,000-square-foot headquarters at 2218 N. Molter, will house the 50 new employees in all that the company expects to hire this year, says Severs.


ISR announced last week that it has signed a $6.7 million contract with Northrop Grumman Corp.s Intelligence Systems Division to supply ISRs SprayCool technology to military payload for the U.S. Air Forces manned U-2 and unmanned Global Hawk platforms.


ISR, which moved to Liberty Lake in 2002, has made a name for itself through its patented SprayCool technology for high performance electrical components. About 95 percent of ISRs $32 million in revenue last year came from contracts with the U.S. military, but the company now is taking aggressive steps to move more into the commercial market.


Eventually, we want commercial revenue to be larger than military revenue, says Severs.


The new employees that will occupy the Pring building will consist mostly of workers to expand ISRs central engineering department, but also will include employees hired specifically to increase the commercial end of the business.


Brothers Don and Chuck Tilton, both Washington State University graduates, launched the business in 1988 in Lexington, Ky., moved it to Seattle, then, in 1996, moved the operation to Clarkston, Wash. Since then, ISR has moved its main office to Liberty Lake and opened a 20-person research and development operation in Pullman, Wash.