Spokane-based Tate Technology Inc., which provides electronic manufacturing services to various industries, has experienced double-digit growth in revenue and employment during the last year, says Lee Tate, company president.

Tate attributes the strong growth to several factors, including a dwindling pool of competitors, and says he expects it to continue with the looming release of a new patented product. That growth comes as the company moves toward an expected leadership change within the next year.

"It's very odd that (being up by that percentage) would be the case in these slow economic times," Tate says. "We're finding that our competitors are slowly slipping away, so we're picking up the remains of their customer base."

Tate says revenue and employment tend to mirror each other.

So far this year, the company, which occupies a 19,000-square-foot space at 3102 E Trent, has had revenues of $2.5 million, up from $2.1million in the year-earlier period. Tate says it expects to surpass its full-year 2011 revenue of $4.3 million by bringing in around $5 million this year. Meanwhile, its workforce has grown to 40 from 34 a year earlier.

Tate Technology manufacturers printed circuit assemblies used by companies in the medical, industrial, and aerospace industries, among others. Its Inland Northwest clients have included Wagstaff Inc., Itron Inc., and Telect Inc., among others.

The company plans soon to start manufacturing a new propane-powered pipe debonding tool for Debonding Systems Inc., a Spokane-based company that has been operating for five years and is owned by three engineers, including Tate.

The company says this product isn't a departure from what it already makes since the debonder uses an electronic controller.

The tool, which uses radiant heat to unglue pieces of PVC pipes without damaging the pipe fitting, currently is available in a model that handles 6-inch diameter pipe. The company plans on releasing a new model that is capable of removing adhesive from 4-inch to 30-inch pipe with the addition of three interchangeable heads.

Tate says when a pipe in a factory breaks, the factory often shuts down until it's fixed. He says factories don't want to be down since that equates to a loss in productivity, so the faster a factory can fix the problem, the less it costs.

"Most people, when they go down, they cut (the pipe) out and replace it," Tate says. "That's the slow, hard way to fix it."

With the debonder tool, Tate says a plumber theoretically can have the fitting out and ready to be reused with a new piece of pipe in 10 minutes.

Tate says the 20-inch debonder head, which fits 14-inch to 20-inch pipe, is planned to be released by Christmas and the 30-inch head size, which fits 22-inch to 30-inch pipe, has a planned release date of April 2013.

The debonding tool took four years to develop, Tate says, adding that he's unaware of any other debonders on the market that are as large as the largest one Tate Technology is making.

Along with the product release, Tate Technology is gearing up for a shift in ownership.

Lee Tate says he plans to transfer ownership of the company to his son, Scott Tate, during the first half of next year. Scott Tate currently is vice president for sales and marketing at Tate Technology.

"I don't think tradition will change; we want to maintain our customer base and provide our employees with a great place to work," Scott Tate says.

He says the transition started when he began working at Tate Technology in April 2007, right before the recession hit, and the company has been fortunate that it has remained busy since then.

The company's $4.3 million in revenue last year was up substantially from $3.2 million in 2007. "Knock on wood, it's as stable as it's going to get," Scott Tate says.

He says that when he becomes majority shareholder, it will give his father more time to work on other projects.

Tate Technology believes that if the debonding tool piques the interest of the plumbing industry, manufacturing could require 10 or 12 additional jobs at the manufacturer to keep up with demand.

He says he hopes to have the tool on most plumbers' trucks in the next five to 10 years.

"It might not add 500 jobs (at Tate Technology), but it could add a dozen or so," Lee Tate says.