North Idaho’s natural strengths offering boost to recreational equipment economic growth with Cascade Toboggan, Ski Doctor Designs, Buck Knives, Hyde Drift Boats, and Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs among others

When Dana and Susan Jordan decided to move Cascade Toboggan Rescue Co. http://www.cascadetoboggan.com/ out of the Seattle area, they had a short list of requirements:

* A location where they could purchase a facility for less than the $1 million it would cost in the Puget Sound region.

* A good school system for their kids.

* A ski hill.

By Becky Kramer Staff writer The Spokesman Review

Without Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Cascade Toboggan probably wouldn’t have ended up in Sandpoint. "Being in a company that serves the ski industry we needed access to a mountain for product testing, and the ability to take clients there to entertain them," said Dana Jordan, company president.

Cascade Toboggan sells more than $1 million worth of mountain rescue equipment annually to ski resorts in North America, Spain, Japan and Australia. The company moved to Sandpoint in March 2002, the first of four small, outdoor equipment manufacturers that have since committed to the area.

In each case, the companies cited proximity to Schweitzer as a key reason for the move."From a business and personal standpoint, it was essential," said Brad Golphenee, an avid skier and co-owner of CTC Accessories, which makes snowboard leashes and other ski industry products.

"One of the reasons we’re in the business is that we want to live in a resort community. "North Idaho’s scenic beauty and outdoor recreation have always attracted new residents. But now, the Bonner County Economic Development Council is starting to consider the recruitment potential of ski runs, golf courses, rivers and lakes.

"We think we’re on to something," said Kevin Clegg, the EDC’s executive director.

"Outdoor equipment companies tend to view outdoor aesthetics as a plus. The other piece is that they have all these places to test their equipment." Clegg is currently trying to recruit a golf equipment manufacturer to Sandpoint, and he’ll attend two outdoor trade shows this year in search of other prospects.

Job-wise, the gains from the four companies are modest. Cascade Toboggan, the largest, employs eight people during its peak season. Ski Doctor Designs, which makes ski equipment for people with disabilities, will move to Sandpoint with just one employee founder Mark Greene, who’s waiting for his house to sell in Sacramento, Calif.

However, the companies are just what Bonner County is trying to attract, Clegg said small manufacturing firms from high-cost areas that don’t depend on local customers for their sales. They’re a good addition to an economy where unemployment tops 8 percent, and many people work in seasonal or low-paying service jobs, he said. Outdoor recreational equipment is an $18 billion dollar industry in the United States, with most of the large manufacturers concentrated in Colorado, the San Francisco Bay area and Seattle.

Idaho which recently recruited Buck Knives from San Diego, and is already home to dozens of tackle, archery, ski and outdoor clothing manufacturers has always been interested in the smaller companies and their potential for creating jobs in rural areas, said Randy Shroll, sales and marketing manager for the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Smaller manufacturers are keenly aware of labor and energy costs, which tend to be lower in Idaho than more urban states, Shroll said. Outdoor equipment companies also want to be close to the activity that created the business. "They start in someone’s garage, born out of the founder’s interest in backpacking, whitewater rafting or fly-fishing," Shroll said.

"They’re not huge, and that’s why they work well in places like Bonner County." Other rural areas around the state are also targeting outdoor manufacturers. Eastern Idaho has recruited a snowmobile apparel manufacturer and a company that produces fishing line since 1999, when a consultant identified outdoor recreation as a possible niche, said Jim Bowman, president of the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council in Idaho Falls.

"It’s still an emerging industry, but one with a significant potential for growth," he said. "Outdoor recreation is a growing trend in the United States." Hyde Drift Boats is one of the state’s best examples of the possibilities, Shroll and Bowman said. Newly named Idaho Commerce Director LaMoyne Hyde and his son built their first drift boat prototypes in 1989.

Avid fly-fishermen, they were trying to improve on a kit design for a boat that would drift slowly in fast-flowing river currents. The company now employs 40 people, with annual sales of around $4 million. Hyde checked out locations across the West before deciding to stay in his hometown of Idaho Falls. Regulatory issues and labor force were considerations. So was access to blue-ribbon fishing streams for demonstrating the product to customers, Hyde said. "I looked at Utah, Colorado, Washington and Oregon before deciding we had the best location," he said.

In their previous location, the Jordans owners of Cascade Toboggan were 45 minutes from the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass ski area in Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Not bad by Seattle standards for commute times, noted Dana Jordan, who was a member of the ski patrol. When the couple needed a larger facility, however, they decided to look around. "The long-term plan was to acquire a larger manufacturing space, and own our own building," Dana Jordan said. "We were looking at a cost of $750,000 to $1 million in the Seattle area. . . . If you don’t have a low-cost structure in manufacturing, you’re not competitive." The couple initially considered moving the company to Bend, Ore., but the area’s rapid growth deterred them, Dana Jordan said.

Jordan and his wife purchased Cascade Toboggan in 1999, after careers in the software industry. They wanted a smaller community and a simpler lifestyle. In 2001, the Jordans took a second look at Sandpoint, one of their former vacation spots. They could purchase a facility for the same rent they were paying in King County.

Schweitzer was just 9 miles away. And when their truck broke down, virtual strangers offered to loan them a vehicle for the trip back to Seattle, Dana Jordan said. Everything fit except the "Cascade" in the 40-year-old company’s name. "It’s been Cascade Toboggan for so long that we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot to change it," Dana Jordan said. "Otherwise, we might be Gem State Toboggans." Back in the Seattle area, word of Cascade Toboggan’s move spread among the Jordans’ business acquaintances. Brad and Maria Golphenee were intrigued.

"It’s funny. Word-of-mouth really works," Brad Golphenee said. "When we found out that Dana and Susan were moving here, we said, `Sandpoint. Oh we love Sandpoint.’ " Their company was also in the midst of change. CTC Accessories makes snowboard leashes, ski bibs, radio harnesses, safety vests and related items. The couple had recently closed a 45-employee sewing facility near Seattle’s Safeco Field.

The couple had decided to contract out their assembly work and concentrate on new designs. Suddenly, they were no longer tied to the area, and started thinking about moving. Sandpoint put them near their family’s favorite pastime skiing and near a client Schweitzer.

It also gave them better access to ski resorts in Montana and Canada than their previous location. CTC Accessories’ shop in Sandpoint is small, but growing. The company employs two full-time people in addition to the Golphenees, and also contracts with independent seamstresses in the area.

"It’s another stop on the UPS route," Maria Golphenee said. Since their move, another business associate Colin McLemore of Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs in Chehalis, Wash. has also announced plans to move to Sandpoint. "We keep wondering who will be next," Maria Golphenee said. Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs makes tie-downs for hauling cars and bikes. "With our business type, we had the ability to operate almost anywhere," McLemore said.

"I’ve been vacationing there for about eight years. With the affordable business climate, and the cost of living, it’s a pretty nice package." Clegg, the Bonner County EDC director, hopes to see the base of outdoor manufacturers continue to grow. Once a critical mass is established, companies tend to attract other companies through business relationships and supplier contracts. In addition to the job growth, the companies provide good exposure for Sandpoint’s tourism industry, he said.

Company catalogs and brochures are good advertising, said Deanna Harris, base area director for Schweitzer Mountain Resort. "Any time they use a beautiful picture of Schweitzer showing the lake . . . people say, `Wow. Where is that place?’ " she said.

Becky Kramer can be reached at (208) 765-7122 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Outdoor recreation have always attracted new residents. But now, the Bonner County Economic Development Council is starting to consider the recruitment potential of ski runs, golf courses, rivers and lakes.

“We think we’re on to something,” said Kevin Clegg, the EDC’s executive director. “Outdoor equipment companies tend to view outdoor aesthetics as a plus. The other piece is that they have all these places to test their equipment.”

Clegg is currently trying to recruit a golf equipment manufacturer to Sandpoint, and he’ll attend two outdoor trade shows this year in search of other prospects.

Jobwise, the gains from the four companies are modest. Cascade Toboggan, the largest, employs eight people during its peak season. Ski Doctor Designs, which makes ski equipment for people with disabilities, will move to Sandpoint with just one employee — founder Mark Greene, who’s waiting for his house to sell in Sacramento, Calif.

However, the companies are just what Bonner County is trying to attract, Clegg said — small manufacturing firms from high-cost areas that don’t depend on local customers for their sales. They’re a good addition to an economy where unemployment tops 8 percent, and many people work in seasonal or low-paying service jobs, he said.

Outdoor recreational equipment is an $18 billion industry in the United States, with most of the large manufacturers concentrated in Colorado, the San Francisco Bay area and Seattle.

Idaho — which recently recruited Buck Knives http://www.buckknives.com/ from San Diego, and is already home to dozens of tackle, archery, ski and outdoor clothing manufacturers — has always been interested in the smaller companies and their potential for creating jobs in rural areas, said Randy Shroll, sales and marketing manager for the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Smaller manufacturers are keenly aware of labor and energy costs, which tend to be lower in Idaho than more urban states, Shroll said. Outdoor equipment companies also want to be close to the activity that created the business.

“They start in someone’s garage, born out of the founder’s interest in backpacking, whitewater rafting or fly-fishing,” Shroll said. “They’re not huge, and that’s why they work well in places like Bonner County.”

Other rural areas around the state are also targeting outdoor manufacturers. Eastern Idaho has recruited a snowmobile apparel manufacturer and a company that produces fishing line since 1999, when a consultant identified outdoor recreation as a possible niche, said Jim Bowman, president of the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council in Idaho Falls.

“It’s still an emerging industry, but one with a significant potential for growth,” he said. “Outdoor recreation is a growing trend in the United States.”

Hyde Drift Boats http://www.hydeboats.com/ is one of the state’s best examples of the possibilities, Shroll and Bowman said. Newly named Idaho Commerce Director LaMoyne Hyde and his son built their first drift boat prototypes in 1989. Avid fly-fishermen, they were trying to improve on a kit design for a boat that would drift slowly in fast-flowing river currents.

The company now employs 40 people, with annual sales of around $4 million. Hyde checked out locations across the West before deciding to stay in his hometown of Idaho Falls. Regulatory issues and labor force were considerations. So was access to blue-ribbon fishing streams for demonstrating the product to customers, Hyde said.

“I looked at Utah, Colorado, Washington and Oregon before deciding we had the best location,” he said.

In their previous location, the Jordans — owners of Cascade Toboggan — were 45 minutes from the Summit at Snoqualmie Pass ski area in Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Not bad by Seattle standards for commute times, noted Dana Jordan, who was a member of the ski patrol. When the couple needed a larger facility, however, they decided to look around.

“The long-term plan was to acquire a larger manufacturing space, and own our own building,” Dana Jordan said. “We were looking at a cost of $750,000 to $1 million in the Seattle area. … If you don’t have a low-cost structure in manufacturing, you’re not competitive.”

The couple initially considered moving the company to Bend, Ore., but the area’s rapid growth deterred them, Dana Jordan said.

Jordan and his wife purchased Cascade Toboggan in 1999, after careers in the software industry. They wanted a smaller community and a simpler lifestyle.

In 2001, the Jordans took a second look at Sandpoint, one of their former vacation spots. They could purchase a facility for the same rent they were paying in King County. Schweitzer was just 9 miles away. And when their truck broke down, virtual strangers offered to loan them a vehicle for the trip back to Seattle, Dana Jordan said.

Everything fit except the “Cascade” in the 40-year-old company’s name.

“It’s been Cascade Toboggan for so long that we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot to change it,” Dana Jordan said. “Otherwise, we might be Gem State Toboggans.”

Back in the Seattle area, word of Cascade Toboggan’s move spread among the Jordans’ business acquaintances. Brad and Maria Golphenee were intrigued.

“It’s funny. Word-of-mouth really works,” Brad Golphenee said. “When we found out that Dana and Susan were moving here, we said, `Sandpoint. Oh we love Sandpoint.”’

Their company was also in the midst of change. CTC Accessories makes snowboard leashes, ski bibs, radio harnesses, safety vests and related items. The couple had recently closed a 45-employee sewing facility near Seattle’s Safeco Field. The couple had decided to contract out their assembly work and concentrate on new designs. Suddenly, they were no longer tied to the area, and started thinking about moving.

Sandpoint put them near their family’s favorite pastime — skiing — and near a client — Schweitzer. It also gave them better access to ski resorts in Montana and Canada than their previous location.

CTC Accessories’ shop in Sandpoint is small, but growing. The company employs two full-time people in addition to the Golphenees, and also contracts with independent seamstresses in the area.

“It’s another stop on the UPS route,” Maria Golphenee said.

Since their move, another business associate — Colin McLemore of Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/ in Chehalis, Wash. — has also announced plans to move to Sandpoint.

“We keep wondering who will be next,” Maria Golphenee said.

Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs makes tie-downs for hauling cars and bikes. “With our business type, we had the ability to operate almost anywhere,” McLemore said. “I’ve been vacationing there for about eight years. With the affordable business climate, and the cost of living, it’s a pretty nice package.”

Clegg, the Bonner County EDC director, hopes to see the base of outdoor manufacturers continue to grow. Once a critical mass is established, companies tend to attract other companies through business relationships and supplier contracts. In addition to the job growth, the companies provide good exposure for Sandpoint’s tourism industry, he said.

Company catalogs and brochures are good advertising, said Deanna Harris, base area director for Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

“Any time they use a beautiful picture of Schweitzer showing the lake … people say, `Wow. Where is that place?”’ she said.

• Becky Kramer can be reached at (208) 765-7122 or by e-mail at [email protected].

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=051103&ID=s1348300