POST FALLS, Idaho — Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is building a new $150 million manufacturing facility in Post Falls as part of the company’s expansion project.
The project is based on how Idaho ranks on SEL’s Index of Freedom, which ranks state’s business climates. It looks at factors like energy supply, regulation and economic freedom.
This year, Idaho is ranked fifth on this list, while Washington sits at rank 38. That’s a major reason Post Falls was chosen for the latest expansion location.
“There’s regulatory challenges that Washington has right now,” said SEL president Dave Whitehead. “The number of permits it requires to build a building or practice your arts. The political environment is less favorable. There’s a lot of taxation.”
The Post Falls facility is 230,000 square feet and has the manufacturing capabilities needed to build SEL’s electronic devices.
“There’s a lot of demand for our products,” Whitehead said. “The result is we need to expand to be able to build more electronic devices to serve not only our regional customers that we have here but folks around the world.”
SEL says the old Pullman Building Supply warehouse is being turned into a panel assembly factory.
“The electronic devices will get shipped to Pullman building supply, and we’ll put them in panels and then ship those around the country and around the world,” said Whitehead.
There will also be a number of new jobs created with this expansion.
“There’s a ton of excitement. I’m getting calls from community leaders thanking us for investing in our region. We’re bringing in really good paying jobs,” Whitehead said.
SEL expects to have around 500 people working at the new Post Falls location once it’s in operation.
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