Business finds room to grow in Spokane

Cascade Furniture Manufacturing relocates to Spokane Valley from Idaho

Don’t add Henry Sanchez to the list of company owners saying Washington’s business climate is tougher than Idaho’s.

Tom Sowa
Staff writer

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=011604&ID=s1472210&cat=section.business

Sanchez, owner of Cascade Furniture Manufacturing, just moved his 13-person firm from Hayden, Idaho, to the Spokane Valley.

The company makes wood and laminated desks, night stands and credenzas for the hotel and motel industry.

Sanchez, 47, said he’s going to be just fine running the business in Washington.

For one, Washington’s business and occupation tax — B&O for short — will roughly equal the corporate income tax he has to pay in Idaho, he said.

"Plus, a lot of our wood suppliers are in the Spokane area," he said.

The more important reason was Cascade Furniture’s need for more space to grow the business.

Cascade Furniture was started several years ago by previous owner Jim Owens in Hayden.

That shop is 9,000 square feet. Sanchez’s new location will have 17,000 square feet.

"I looked around Post Falls and didn’t find a place to suit my needs," he said.

The new shop is inside the former Bayliner building, 18110 E. Euclid. "That (extra space) is a huge reason for the move," said Sanchez.

The first year hasn’t been smooth sailing for Cascade Furniture, Sanchez said. He realized he had to develop a way to sell directly to his customers — who he said are the second-tier companies like Super 8 Motels and Hollywood Inn Express.

Last year, a stroke of luck was the closing of Arizona-based Caseworks Furniture, a well-respected Western U.S. competitor.

Caseworks’ managers contacted Sanchez, who is one of the Spokane area’s minority business owners, and offered to help him carry on some of their furniture product lines.

Sanchez also hired the former head of sales from Caseworks; that opened a new list of customers for Cascade to approach.

That connection to Caseworks is paying off. Sanchez said Cascade Furniture has booked about $250,000 in orders since Jan. 1. He’s expecting to reach at least $1 million in 2004.

That means he’ll add five to 10 new workers for furniture production. The salaries will range from $8.50 to around $12 an hour.

Ben Cabildo, head of AHANA, a nonprofit focused on helping area minority-owned firms grow, said Sanchez is a good example of the challenges faced by the smaller companies he deals with.

Mainstream companies are reluctant to deal with very small firms, like Cascade Furniture, Cabildo said. When they find a chance to get a piece of that business, like Sanchez now has, it’s the first step in helping the company take off, he said.