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Oxarc Inc., of Spokane, has opened its 12th store and is hoping to increase its annual sale to $20 million this year.
The company, owned by Colbert-area residents Jerry and June Walmsley and their four children, is a retail and: wholesale distributor of welding supplies, gases, and safety and industrial products.
Jerry Walmsley, the company's chairman, says that when he and his wife bought the company in 1968, it employed 15 people, did $700,000 in annual sales, and had just two outlets, one in Spokane and one in Lewiston, Idaho.
Now, he says, Oxarc employs 132 people, did $18 million in annual sales last year, and opened its 12th store, in Twin Falls, Idaho, in late May.
This year, the company hopes to increase its sales by more than 10 percent to reach the $20 million level, Walmsley says.
In Washington state, Oxarc has stores in Spokane, Pasco, Colville, Moses Lake, Omak, Wenatchee, and Yakima. In Idaho, it has stores in Lewiston, Coeur d'Alene, Boise, and Twin Falls. In Oregon, it has a store in Hermiston.
In addition to its stores, Oxarc operates two gas plants, one in Pasco and one at N4020 Market, in Spokane. Those plants produce acetylene, used for cutting operations and heating, They also rebottle gas delivered in bulk, serve large customers directly, and supply distributors on a wholesale basis.
Twice a week, the company runs a 40-foot van from its Pasco gas plant to Portland, where it makes deliveries to a major distributor. Once a week, it runs a truck from its Spokane gas plant to Tacoma to make deliveries to a big distributor there.
INCREASING MARKET SHARE
A adding its Boise, Omak, and Twin Falls stores in the last five years, Oxarc now plans to concentrate on increasing market share rather than on adding outlets, Walmsley says.
If it's successful, "it would be very possible to double our sales" without adding more stores, he says. Still, he doesn't totally rule out opening new outlets.
Walmsley attributes the company's growth to the quality of the employees in its technical and sales organizations. He says those employees make sure customers use the right materials and gases on a variety of welding jobs.
Whether a customer b building...