Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
It once was used to store city equipment. Now it’s housing economic development.
That is the goal of a Tekoa business incubator program which has a new, prospering tenant in the old city shop building.
Melton Metal Fabricating and Precision Millwrights, LLC, moved in on North Crosby Street after its founding Jan. 1, 2012.
Cliff Melton is a longtime welder and designer in the Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls area who most recently managed the manufacturing facility for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Worley, Idaho. While there, Melton and his team designed and built hard-sided expandable shelters for the military, which are now being used in Afghanistan.
Melton said his goal with his own business is to make his way into military contracting. All the while, the company performs an array of work, from farm equipment repair to grain elevators, snowmobile trailers and more.
“Almost anything that anyone wants built, we can do it,” Melton said.
“They’re doing well, and the whole idea is to bring jobs to town,” said Tekoa Mayor John Jaeger. “I hope they grow out of the building.”
The venture involves Melton’s wife, Tonya; stepsons Russell and Richard Terry and daughter-in-law, Lucy.
On Tuesday morning, Russell, 25, measured metal backboards for the new outdoor basketball court taking shape in Tekoa. From August to December, Melton had 15 employees working night-shifts at Walmart in Moscow doing snow-load retrofits on trusses for its roof.
He hopes to build this staff level to a regular occurrence, aiming for $3 to $4 million a year in total revenue with 20-25 employees. In the first year, Melton’s goal was $100,000. The business did $220,000.
Melton and his family moved to Tekoa five and a half years ago from Hayden Lake, to be closer to his job with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. In 2011, the tribe closed its manufacturing facility and Melton was the last person laid off.
The Meltons soon made a decision.
“Tekoa is just such a lovely little town we decided to stay,” he said.
Melton is originally from Oklahoma and Texas, where his father followed the construction trades.
“I’m mostly taught by my dad,” said Melton, and the trade was passed down to his dad from his grandfather.
Melton now oversees his stepsons.
Richard, 22, graduated from Tekoa High School in 2009. Since then, he has earned his Associates Degree in engineering and drafting design from ITT in Spokane. He will complete his bachelor’s degree this summer in construction project management.
Russell graduated from North Idaho College in culinary arts. His intention was to be a cook, but after trying it out, he changed direction. He worked for Melton’s team at the Coeur d’Alene tribe and was the project manager for the Moscow Wal-Mart job for the new company.
“My goal is that one day these boys take over,” Melton said.
When he decided to start the business, he and Tonya went to a city council meeting and found out about the incubator program, which is partially funded by a Whitman County Economic Development grant.
Soon they decided to open the business in the former old shop building with a rental agreement. They paid $125 per month. Since then, as deemed in the town’s incubator plan, rent has gone up $25 every three months to a limit of $175.
Once it was all official, Melton, Tonya, Russell and Richard painted the exterior and built a small office at one side.
One day a gentleman walked through the door and needed a fuel tank for his boat.
The company had its first project: a $75 12-inch by 2-foot by 1.5-foot-long tank they made out of carbon sheet steel.
Now the shop uses all three bays of the building, one of which holds the city of Tekoa’s parade float chassis. Melton is part of a volunteer six-man crew which has built a framework for it, installed electrical wiring and a stereo system. The group, which includes Rob Wickers, Jim Gordon and Bob Zimm, has been working on it for two months.
If a project is too big, the Melton staff works on it in the parking lot.
In addition to large items, they also create ornamental ironwork and yard décor.
“We’re very pleased with where we started and where we are,” Melton said.
In the meantime, the shop keeps adding clients.
They just sold a trailer to Golf Cars, etc., in Spokane, to use for delivering golf carts to customer, and will be replacing elbows on a distributor manifold on a fertilizer elevator for McGregor Company in Garfield.
“We haven’t really found our niche, if you will, for a lack of a better term,” Melton said. “We’re hoping to find that niche this year. Maybe it will be trailers, government contracts, we’re exploring all of the possibilities.”
He said that whatever might happen, they will continue to do repairs for local farmers and whoever walks in the door.
The equipment Melton and sons use include welding machines, chop saws, cutting torches, hand-held grinders to take off metal burs, plasma cutters and drills.
Melton is encouraged by the venture.
“We’re pretty happy,” he said. “The city of Tekoa has been absolutely wonderful to work with. Everybody has been super-supportive.”
Cliff Melton of Melton Metal Fabricating and Precision Millwrights works with a plasma cutter at the shop Tuesday morning. Melton’s business occupies Tekoa’s former shop building.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)