McKinstry Co. is fueling an employment boom among skilled trades at its two West Plains facilities, says Gabe Boeckman, McKinstry's market strategy and communications director.

The Spokane office of the Seattle-based energy-efficiency system designer and contracting company operates a fabrication facility at 9470 W. 21st, north of Spokane International Airport, in addition to an off-site manufacturing facility at 10015 W. Hallett Road, located south of the airport.

Combined, about 150 employees have been hired this year, he says.

"These are all net new jobs," says Boeckman. "The manufacturing facility ... opened roughly four to six months ago and we have grown it to about 100 employees, mostly in skilled trades."

Many of the new jobs are held by welders, pipe fitters, and sheet metal workers who are helping manufacture systems for data center cooling plants, liquid cooling technologies, and other advanced mechanical, engineering, and plumbing systems, he explains.

The company produces modular cooling plants for data centers at the Hallett Road property, which are used to counteract heat produced by microchips and servers, Boeckman says, adding that the Hallett Road facility is larger than McKinstry's Seattle plant and acts as a hub for shipping.

"We're shipping units out of Spokane going to all over the country to serve our clients' needs and to give them the scale, the speed, and the cost that they need, along with quality. We expect it to grow quite a bit in the next year," says Boeckman.

McKinstry's fabrication plant north of the airport has hired about 50 workers this year, producing sheet metal components, piping, and plumbing materials and systems, he says.

"We're expecting to expand both facilities within the next five years," he says. "We are definitely seeing demand and scaling quickly to meet client demand."

While not immune to the national shortage of skilled labor, Boeckman notes that the company has been able to grow its workforce due to significant recruitment advantages available in the Pacific Northwest, including a robust community college system in Washington state, strong unions, and apprenticeship programs that place high value on skilled trades.

"Finding skilled trades to the level and quality that our clients expect typically can be difficult except for when you're going into Spokane and Seattle, (where) the workforce that is being produced in the area is second to none."

The greater Spokane area also is benefiting from McKinstry's workforce expansion, he contends. Union workers that typically would travel for work during slow periods now have long-term and stable career opportunities at one company.

"It's nice to get them off the job site and into a controlled factory where it can be higher quality, safer, faster, and more efficient, and a little nicer for the workers as well," Boeckman says.

McKinstry employs about 600 people in all in the Spokane area. Boeckman estimates the company's workforce will continue to grow about 10% year over year and will support more engineering jobs.