Visiontec Inc., a high-tech contract manufacturer in Spokane Valley that once employed nearly 50 people, shut down its operation last month, according to a letter the company sent to its suppliers.


This has been brought on by the excess capacity in the industry both nationally and offshore, and customers looking for the lowest price unit, says the letter, which was dated Jan. 9. It adds, The company is closing its operation effective immediately.


Reached by phone, Rick Hansen, Visiontecs president and CEO, declined comment for now, but said he may send out a press release in a couple of weeks.


A page on Visiontecs Web site, however, says the company closed its operation, and advertised equipment for sale.


One supplier to Visiontec, Don Allen, president of Liberty Lake-based Zap Electronics, contends that Visiontec owes his company about $107,000, but as an unsecured creditor, he was told by the Spokane Valley company that, Basically, youre not getting paid.


Visiontecs letter to suppliers says, All of the companys assets are subject to the secured claims of our lenders, who will be entitled to receive the proceeds of our liquidation.


The company was founded here in 1996 and produced and tested circuit boards as a full-service manufacturer, the Journal reported in June 2000. At that time, Visiontec employed 47.


Visiontec was located in an about 50,000-square-foot building it owned at 10920 E. Sprague.


In its letter to suppliers, Visiontec partially blamed them for its predicament.


Our competitors are able to provide the same product 15-25 percent cheaper than Visiontec, in part because many of the same suppliers who provided Visiontec the same material offered it to our competitors at a lower cost, it says.


The letter adds that many suppliers had put Visiontec on a cash on delivery basis due to its financial problems. This resulted in having no working capital to continue operations, the letter says.