A Canadian manufacturer of energy-saving lighting-system regulators and its Spokane-based distributor plan in August to open a joint office in the University of Idaho Research Park, in Post Falls.


The Canadian company, Questal Technologies Inc., expects to open a research-and-development and quality-assurance laboratory in the Post Falls facility, says Questals general manager, Chiara Poletti. The distributor, Quantum Lighting LLC, is to have sales and marketing staff members there, says Quantums president, Jim Collins.


Together, the joint office is expected to employ about a dozen people, most of whom will be hired for those positions rather than transferred to Post Falls, Poletti and Collins say.


Questal Technologies, based in Edmonton, Alberta, was the first of the two companies to explore opening an office in the Research Park. The structures and facilities they have there are exactly what were looking for, says Poletti, adding that the location also is strategically located in the companys main U.S. market and distribution network.


Questals Post Falls lab is expected to employ about five people in research and development, software development, and quality assurance. All of them will be hired locally, she says. With projected growth, I think we can probably reach 15 or 20 people within three years time, she says.


Quantums sales office there, meanwhile, likely will employ about seven people, half of whom will be new hires. Quantum will keep its office in Spokane, which is on the Gonzaga University campus and oversees some lighting systems for the college, Collins says.


The joint facility will be located in the University of Idahos first multi-tenant building in the park, a $3.5 million, 31,000-square-foot structure, says Doug McQueen, director of the park. The 20,000-square-foot first phase of that building is expected to open in mid-August, McQueen says, and the remainder should be open by mid-October.