Delivery Express Inc., a growing Seattle-based courier service, plans to establish a branch in Spokane next year, says Dave Hamilton, its founder and CEO.


The 6-year-old business, which the Puget Sound Business Journal recently listed among the 100 fastest-growing private companies in Washington state, also plans to open a branch in the Portland area, he says.


Hamilton says Delivery Express expects to open its Spokane branch late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter. Our space needs are going to be very minimal. Were going to come in with a bare-bones operation of probably a half-dozen employees and a similar number of delivery trucks, he says.


Delivery Express plans to offer its Local Letter service, which Hamilton calls a localized version of FedEx, in Spokane and Kootenai counties, Hamilton says.


For $8.75, the company will pick up packages after 7 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, typically from designated drop boxes or locations within businesses, often after they have closed, and deliver them by 10:30 a.m. the next day, he says.


Were trying to skim the cream off the top of local deliveries. We think we can provide a better service at a lower cost, Hamilton says.


The Puget Sound Business Journal reported that Delivery Express, which now has about 60 employees and 45 vehicles serving customers in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, had revenue of a little over $2.1 million last year, up from $1.7 million in 2001 and $1.5 million in 2000.