Local company could create 15-20 jobs

A Bonners Ferry company manufacturing a new product for log trucks could mean jobs for Boundary County.

Joe Stockdale, owner of Stockdale Steel and Northwest Industrial Manufacturing on Highway 95 south of town, as of Monday said he couldn’t say how many jobs his company might create.

“It could be as small as two to four or up to 15 to 20,” Stockdale said.

The positions for welders and assembly line workers would pay from $9 to $15 an hour.

Stockdale has purchased a patent to manufacture Safe-T-Bunks, which are hands-free stake extensions that allow more logs to be loaded on trucks.

“When guys load up logs on trucks and put cheater pipes up, there’s a lot of injuries,” Stockdale explained. “These (Safe-T-Bunks) are built inside the bunk. You hit a button and the stakes lock in place”

The product was been presented to Kenworth Truck Co. over a month ago.

“Kenworth showed some interest in the automated bunk stakes,” Stockdale said.

The hope is that Kenworth would be the installer of the Safe-T-Bunks, which Stockdale would manufacture.

In addition, the state of Idaho has agreed to offer 15 percent discounts on insurance for trucks equipped with Safe-T-Bunks. Stockdale hopes to get a similar insurance classification from Washington.

“We’re looking at a substantially higher discount for Washington state truck drivers,” he said.

There are sixteen trucks using the Safe-T-Bunks in the field.

Stockdale is also working on projects for the tobacco industry in Virginia.

“We just got three patents for products we are working on,” he said.