LineSoft Corp., a Spokane-based maker of software for power-line planning and design, plans to hire more than 200 workers in the next 18 months, accelerating an already aggressive growth clip that has exceeded company projections, says Linda Hemingway, LineSofts director of sales and marketing.


LineSoft hasnt determined how many of those jobs will be added here rather than in its four other offices around the U.S., but Hemingway says, At this point, we show a disproportionate number of them being in Spokane.


LineSoft currently employs about 120 people, about 90 of whom work at its Spokane Valley headquarters in the Pinecroft Business Park.


The new jobs involve mostly computer programming, engineering, and sales and marketing positions. The average starting pay for those positions ranges from $50,000 to $70,000 a year, but Hemingway says some of the positions pay substantially more than that.


We need to attract the best in the area to achieve our expansion goals, and we are paying to get it, she says.


The company declines for now to disclose what has prompted its plans for a hiring blitz, but it expects to announce on May 16 significant expansion plans and new contracts.


LineSoft also plans to lease more office space in the Pinecroft Business Park, where it currently occupies 14,000 square feet of floor space. Hemingway says it plans to take an additional 10,000 square feet of space in the park by year-end.


The company already has been hiring new employees at a healthy clip. Since the beginning of the year, it has hired 25 people, 16 of whom work in its Spokane office.


In the past 12 months, it has added about 70 workers, which surpassed its employment growth projection by almost 20 new hires.


Meanwhile, LineSofts revenues grew more than 200 percent in 1999, which was in line with company projections. Hemingway declines to disclose the companys annual sales.


LineSoft, which was founded by Fred Brown, of Spokane, 10 years ago, makes and sells software products geared toward helping power companies operate more efficiently.


In addition to its Spokane operation, it has field offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta and sales offices in Portland, Ore., and Las Vegas.


LineSofts primary product, LD-Pro, is used in power-line design to determine the most efficient way to supply power to new electricity customers.


The company has hopes to go public within three years, and it expects to become one of the largest companies in its niche market.


We think there is a $5 billion to $10 billion market for what were doing, Brown said during an interview last spring. We want to have 10 percent of that market within four years.