Bargain Hunt Inc., a company started last year to sell surplus cabinetry and building materials from big Spokane Valley cabinet maker Huntwood Industries Inc., is growing quickly as it evolves into a discount building-products outlet.


Tony Baycroft, Bargain Hunts general manager, says the company is adding more product linesmade or supplied by companies other than Huntwoodand expects its sales to quadruple this year compared with a better-than-anticipated 2003.


It was a trial venture that seems to have caught on, Baycroft says. When the interest grew and the traffic flow increased and we understood what the market was looking for, we started to look after that market.


Bargain Hunt is located in about 20,000 square feet of warehouse space at the northeast corner of Sullivan Road and Euclid Avenue, in the big Spokane Business & Industrial Park. The company is a subsidiary of Huntwood Industries, which is owned by Tim and Resa Hunt.


The building-products outlet currently employs nine people and plans to add a few more if sales increase as projected this year, Baycroft says.


The store currently carries lines of cash-and-carry cabinetry, pre-hung doors, molding, and other building materials, Baycroft says. It also offers lines of plumbing supplies and lighting and is looking to bring in prefabricated granite countertops for bathroom vanities and small kitchens.


While started as a way to sell extra Huntwood products and raw materials, Baycroft says about 75 percent of the stores inventory now is made for Bargain Hunt by other manufacturers.


The product mix is aimed at appealing to the home-improvement hobbyist and small professional remodeler.


To further serve that market, the company is adding a woodworkers shop at which it will offer wood-finishing services.


Huntwood Industries, which employs more than 700 people and occupies about 360,000 square feet of floor space in the park, has started work on a huge new manufacturing plant in Liberty Lake and plans to move there next year. Baycroft says he expects Bargain Hunt to remain in the park after Huntwood moves.