BUSINESS...ATC Manufacturing expanding its Post Falls facility

Advanced Thermoplastic Composites (ATC) broke ground in late August on a 57,635-square-foot addition that will nearly double its manufacturing plant at 1224 N. Lean St. in Post Falls. 

ATC, which was recently awarded a contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory for large-scale, high-rate thermoplastic composite aircraft structures, mass-produces clips, brackets and primary structure parts for the aerospace industry, specifically commercial aircraft, and is looking to get into the defense space as well. 

ATC President Patrick Jones said the project will cost more than $10 million and is targeted for completion in the summer of 2027. 

“We are proud to call Post Falls home and are grateful to Senators Crapo and Risch, and Mayor Westlund, for their unwavering support of American manufacturing, Jones said in an Aug. 27 press release. "Our partnership with the U.S. Air Force and hiring dozens of new engineers and technicians is very exciting for us, as one of the largest thermoplastic composite aerospace manufacturing centers in the country.”    

Baker Construction is the project's general contractor. 

"Dan Jorgensen founded ATC in his garage in 2004. He used to be a Boeing engineer in Spokane," Jones said. "But he decided to go out on his own and start up a thermoplastics business. He expanded to a location out in the valley and then ultimately to the industrial park and then built this 67,000-square-feet building we are in 2015." 

Jason Merrifield, business development manager at ATC, said a major player in that expansion process was Lake Side Companies in Coeur d'Alene. 

"They started investing in ATC around 2010, helping with some of the growth that we were experiencing — capital investments for equipment and that sort of thing," Merrifield said. "They helped us build this facility here in 2015 and then eventually became owners right around COVID time."  

Jones said ATC experienced some hiccups during COVID, with starts and stops in the Boeing commercial programs, but has ramped up since, which is driving its growth and diversification into the defense space. 

"We've virtually doubled our employment in the last year," Jones said. "We were in the 60 to 70 range, and we're now at about 130 people." 

Jones said many of those individuals came from community colleges like NIC, KETC and Elevate Academy North Tech Schools, the University of Idaho and Gonzaga University. 

ATC recently received its Cyber Maturity Model Certification. 

"We needed that certification because we're getting into the defense space and have to have the credentials that allow us to receive sensitive and confidential information," Merrifield said. Defense space is the buzzword now — everyone in the industry is trying to get that approval because all the new contracts are going to require that." 

The expanded area at the facility will house a cafeteria, a larger conference room for meetings and training, office space for up to 30 engineers, and a larger press in addition to the 10 it already has, allowing ATC to make larger and longer parts. 

"The ones we have now can only make something as big as 60 inches by 30 inches. The new press will double that size to 120 inches by 60 inches," Merrifield said. "The degree of compression strength in the current presses varies from 30 to 200 tons. The one that's coming is a lot bigger and a lot more powerful than that." 

Merrifield said ATC supplies parts to customers in the Boeing ecosystem worldwide. 

"We supply all the traditional players you see in the aerospace industry — have about 68 customers," he said. We're also big on R&D (research and development), so we're trying to find new applications for thermoplastics outside the commercial industry in the defense and urban mobility spaces. We do have a lot of projects going on right now with the Air Force and NASA, though." 

Post Falls Mayor Randy Westland was ecstatic about ATC's expansion. 

"Their growth is a testament to what's possible when a company invests in a workforce right here at home," he said. "We're proud to have such a critical part of commercial and defense aerospace manufacturing growing in Post Falls."

    This rendering shows the completed 57,000-sq.-ft. expansion of the ATC Manufacturing facility at 1224 N Lean Street in Post Falls.

    This continuous compression molding machine feeds fiber-reinforced thermoplastic through a heated, multi-stage forming/consolidation tool, where the material softens, is shaped under pressure, and then cools to lock in the final geometry. The profiles can then be cut to length and machined into ribs, stringers, posts, beams, stiffeners, and other lightweight aircraft structural members.

  

Now the TidBits   

New and Upcoming

• Government Way Antique Mall at 7352 N. Government Way in Dalton Gardens is now open.

• Ross Dress for Less is coming to Ironwood Square in Coeur d'Alene. It will be located in the old Rite Aid space.

• Crayon Box Child Care is now open at 245 W. Bosanko Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.

• Jersey Mike's, 8289 N. Highway 41 in Post Falls, is now open. 

• Mor Furniture for Less, located in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden, is open. 

• The Flying Pickle, a state-of-the-art pickleball facility, is now open at The Pointe in Post Falls on 140 N. Beck Road.   

• Golden Rule Brake at 3637 N. Government Way is open for business. 

• The Crescent Moon Bakery at 315 E. Walnut in Coeur d'Alene is now open. 

• Jefe's Tacos and Tequila at 761 N. Idaho St. in Post Falls is now open.   

• Dragon Fly Support Services, a mental health and substance use counseling facility, is now open at 601 E. Seltice Way in Post Falls.   

Ongoing Projects  

• Chase Bank is under development next to Verizon and Starbucks off Prairie Avenue and U.S. 95 in Hayden.

• The Selkirk Center broke ground for a new Health Care and mixed-use campus at Lancaster Road and Highway 41 in Rathdrum.

• ATC Manufacturing Inc. in Post Falls has begun a project to nearly double its 67,000-square-foot headquarters.

• Super 1 Foods broke ground on a new location at Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue in Post Falls.     

• A new commercial building is planned for the Riverstone development at 1570 W. Tilford Lane and will bring at least one new dining option to the area. The 7,500-square-foot mixed-use building is targeted for completion in early fall.     

• The 33-unit, mixed-use "Nonna" building across from Post Falls City Hall on Spokane Street is anticipated to be completed by October of 2026.  

• A five-story, 173-room Hilton Dual Brand Hotel is planned for a 2.71-acre parcel of land off Lee Court and Appleway Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. The project's start and completion dates are not yet determined. 

Post Falls Business Licenses Filed 

• Legendary Paw Spa, LLC 

• A Touch of the Cascades Landscaping, LLC 

• Inland Motors 

• Two Left Feet, LLC 

• Nightshade Alchemy, LLC 

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Have a tip on happenings in the local business world? Contact Bob at [email protected].