Harpers Manufacturing, the big office-furniture maker in Post Falls, has changed its name to flexcel-Post Falls and could take on work previously done at other plants owned by its parent company, Kimball International Inc.


Kimball, a conglomerate based in Jasper, Ind., has given the flexcel name to all of the operations in its contract-manufacturing division, which totals more than 25 plants nationwide, says company spokesman Marty Vaught. As part of that reorganization, the plants more often will share information and work, he says.


The Post Falls plant will continue to manufacture metal filing cabinets and office-cubicle panel systems, but also now will be able to assimilate some of the work some of the other plants have been doing, Vaught says. Flexcel-Post Falls, for example, may take on metal-stamping work that had been done by a Kimball-owned plant in Mississippi thats to close, he says. The Post Falls facility also will pursue contract-manufacturing work for other clients, he says.


Flexcel-Post Falls employed about 500 people last summer. The plants general manager could not be reached for comment.