Washington manufacturer opens manufacturing facility in Hayden

Two economic development organizations in northern Idaho used an available manufacturing space and a state tax credit to attract a Washington company to Hayden.

Jon Smalley, CEO of SmaK Plastics, said he became interested in the area after the Panhandle Area Council approached him about an open facility with manufacturing equipment already installed.

“A lot of things happened that made this expansion a perfect fit,” Smalley said in a statement. “The availability of an existing business with a complete line of operational equipment that matches with our existing business was ideal.”

SmaK Plastics is based in Vancouver, Wash. It has opened its second facility in Hayden and said it will create 45 jobs with an average wage of $37,200, according to the Idaho Department of Commerce.

The Panhandle Area Council inherited the equipment in Hayden after the previous occupant closed its business. The council then tried to sell the equipment. When Smalley visited to view the equipment, the council got him in touch with the Coeur d’Alene Area Economic Development Corporation and the Idaho Department of Commerce. They helped Smalley apply for a tax reimbursement incentive, or TRI, that would be available if he opened a facility in Idaho instead of moving the equipment back to Washington.

A TRI is a tax credit available to moving or expanding businesses in Idaho that can be worth up to 30 percent of a company’s income, payroll and sales taxes for as long as 15 years.

SmaK’s TRI will be worth 15 percent and last for seven years, according to the Idaho Department of Commerce.