Hospitality Manufacturing Inc., a Hayden, Idaho-based maker of furniture for hospitals, hotels, and schools, has broken ground on a bigger manufacturing plant that should help the company post record sales this year, says Darren Miller, its president.


Hospitality Manufacturing plans to move by March into a 16,000-square-foot facility thats under construction at 2321 W. Dakota, Miller says. Currently, the 14-year-old company is based in two facilities that have a total of about 12,000 square feet of space, with the companys headquarters located in the larger of those two locations, at 9873 N. Government Way, in Hayden, he says. The other facility is located a short distance away, on Tyrene Court.


Weve been operating out of mediocre space for the last 10 years, Miller says.


The new building, which will cost about $450,000, is being erected by Coeur dAlene-based Cooks Steel Buildings, he says.


Having more space will allow Hospitality Manufacturing to add three to five employees to its current 12-person work force, Miller says. In addition, the larger plant will accommodate about $350,000 worth of equipment that the company is buying to automate its production further, he says. The new equipment alone should nearly triple the companys production capacity, he says.


Hospitality Manufacturings sales totaled about $2.5 million last year, and Miller expects that number to jump to $3.5 million to $4 million in 2004. The company hired five of its 12 employees last year as its sales grew, he says.


I think the economys picked up a lot, Miller says. People are starting to buy again.


Miller bought the business from former owner Tony Tijssen four years ago, he says.


Since then, sales have increased by 110 percent, mostly because of more aggressive sales efforts, he says.


Miller says the company currently is making furniture for a major remodeling project under way at the Mirabeau Park Hotel & Convention Center in Spokane Valley (formerly the DoubleTree Hotel Spokane Valley), and also provided furniture for Sacred Heart Childrens Hospital.