Itron Plans To Expand, Boost Jobs

Itron Inc. will invest as much as $20 million in plant expansions that will double production capacity and substantially increase its work force, the company revealed in new reports to shareholders.

Most of the expenditures will take place in Spokane, Treasurer Mima Scarpelli said Wednesday, but another Itron facility in Waseca, Minn., will also benefit.

In Spokane, construction will start next month on a 25,000-square-foot addition that will be outfitted with new production equipment, she said.

The work should be completed in August, Scarpelli said, and as many as 100 workers could be added by the end of the year.

Together with work scheduled in Waseca, Itron will be able to double output of its remote meter-reading devices to four million units per year.

Although the backlog of orders for Itron equipment has not increased, Scarpelli said, “We’re just trying to stay ahead of the curve.”

The Spokane-based company has signed several major supply contracts with U.S. utilities in recent months.

Itron also has purchased a nearby building from Pentzer Corp., where about 70 workers involved in field-service and international operations will be relocated.

Pentzer, the holding company for the non-utility operations of Washington Water Power Co., once held a significant minority position in Itron stock, but has liquidated most of its holdings in recent years.

Itron also plans to institute an employee stock ownership plan that will allow workers on the job a minimum three months to buy shares at 85 percent of the market price, up to a maximum $25,000.

Scarpelli said the company has about 80,000 shares available for employee purchase. That should be enough for about three years, she said.

The plan will generate some capital for Itron, she said, but the major objective is to offer employees another benefit.

Company executives have received stock options as incentive bonuses for several years.

, DataTimes