Grow and Cover

Diversity leads to expansion at Inland Tarp and Cover

MOSES LAKE — As a farmer in the Marlin area, Glen Knopp was covering his hay and visiting with a cousin in 100-degree-plus weather.

"We were covering the hay, and I said, 'Boy I wish there was an easier way,'" Knopp recalled. His cousin recalled hearing about tarp material available in Canada to stretch over the agriculture product. Knopp purchased some and before long, other farmers were asking for a similar product.

But the tarp didn't hold up well in the high windy areas, so Knopp designed a new tie-down system, believing the process of putting a tarp on should be easy. The company produced a DVD showing customers how to install properly.

"(It) has become the standard of the market, and it just grew from there," he said. "To the point I had to make a decision if I was going to stay farming, because I couldn't do both."

Knopp started an insulation program and ultimately decided to manufacture tarps. Inland Tarp and Cover began operating in 1980.

The company moved to Moses Lake in 1998, taking over surplus property owned by a hay-press operation, in order to have room to expand, have close proximity to Interstate 90 and reduce travel time.

Some people are not aware of the company's presence in Moses Lake, Knopp and Darrel Copeland, director of human resources and safety said.

"I think a lot of people are surprised by just how big this business is," Copeland said. "It's a huge market."

Knopp agreed, and said the biggest competition is a lack of education amongst the public, not another tarp manufacturer.

"There's a lot of people out there that aren't using tarps that don't realize they can save $3 for every dollar they invest if they put a tarp on," he said. "As we educate people around the country, they wake up to it and they realize those guys that are surviving in the industry are the ones that are protecting their products. You wouldn't see people pouring their grain out onto the ground and leaving it uncovered. They put it in a silo."

Challenges of the business can include the weather and issues of supply, Knopp explained. In the past, manufacturing capacity has also been a challenge.

Last year, the company expanded its office adding 4,000 square-feet to have a building about 5,200 square-feet in size, said Darrel Copeland, director of human resources and safety. This year, the company extended its manufacturing facility by 10,400 square-feet, reaching a total of 26,000 square-feet and added more covered space to a 10,000 square-feet outside concrete work area.

The expansion is almost complete, Knopp said, save for the installation of some insulation. The expansion also includes energy efficient lights and floor heat.

"Diversification of our product line caused it to happen," Copeland said. "We picked up business in making liners and flatsheets, building cover lines expanding … All these additional things to make, we needed more room to make them."

Liners is the largest segment of growth, Knopp said, and hay tarps the most visible. The company also offers oil field liners, for drilling operations which much catch any liquid or grindings which come out of the hole. Inland Hay and Tarp is also expanding into athletic field covers.

The company also has multiple entities, with installation crews in Pasco, Portland, Ore. and Twin Falls, Idaho, as well as in western Oregon.

The number of employees changes depending on the season. Copeland estimated the summer count to be as high as 150, and drop back to about 50. With the expansion, Knopp expects to see the number increase over the next year. That many people were already hired this year in anticipation of the expansion, he said.

"The best part about the business is working with good people," Knopp said. "The good customers we have give me the warm and fuzzies to get through the challenging times, as well as good employees to work with. It's rare to find as good a group of people as we have here."