Janet Kloos works for a company that seems out-ofstep with the national perceptions: It’s a growing manufacturing firm and yes, they are hiring.

“We’ve brought on a significant number of people for production since the beginning of the year and we’re hoping to hire more,” said Kloos, human resources director at Heath Tecna, which has hired more than 100 people in the past year at the Bellingham facility, increasing the total work force to about 600.

“In the last few years, business has been picking up.”

In a national economic climate where there has been plenty of discussion about U.S. manufacturing jobs going overseas, Whatcom County has maintained a steady number of workers in the industry.

In the last 10 years, the number of people employed in manufacturing has averaged between a low of 8,100 (in 2002) and a high of 9,200 (in 2007), according to the state Employment Security Department.

Last September, 9,400 people were employed in manufacturing, the highest number since 1996. That number dipped after the closure of the Georgia-Pacific West Inc. tissue mill in December, but it seems to be on the rise again heading into the busier summer months.

Whatcom County has been able to avoid the loss of manufacturing jobs partly because of the industries that remain: The two oil refineries, which supply more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs, continue to pump out a product that is in demand even if the national economy is slowing down. Heath Tecna’s Bellingham facility, which focuses on refurbishing commercial airline interiors, has been busy because airlines are keeping older planes rather than buying new ones as skyrocketing jet fuel costs sap profits.

The need for workers also has remained strong locally, particularly in skilled positions, said Rafeeka Gafoor, regional business services manager at WorkSource Northwest, a state agency that helps people find employment.

“You see demand easing up a little for the entry-level jobs, but companies are still forced to recruit nationwide for positions such as electricians and millwrights,” Gafoor said.

Even the highly sought jobs are seeing the impact of continued low unemployment, which is currently around 5 percent locally.

ConocoPhillips recently accepted job applications for 10 openings that were created through retirement or people leaving its Ferndale refinery. The refinery received plenty of job applications, but fewer than what they expected, said Jeff Callender, spokesman for

the facility, which employs about 290 people.

“We still have a good number of qualified people to draw from, but less than what we would normally see,” said Callender.

While Whatcom County seems to be holding its own, it’s not a boom time, either.

Rud Browne, founder of The Ryzex Group in Bellingham, said business has been OK as his company continues to look for clients. The Ryzex Group sells and repairs new and used bar code scanners.

“We are seeing more projects being deferred; not canceled, but deferred nonetheless,” he said, noting his company has been mainly hiring sales people.

For other companies, it’s just a matter of shifting focus.

At Andgar Corp., the residential part of the company’s business has slowed down, so it has been focusing on the commercial and public projects, such as metal fabrication work for a new high school in Snohomish, said Todd Kunzman, general manager.

Andgar works on a variety of projects, from making sheet metal to building food processing equipment.

“On the West Coast, there still seems to be more activity on the commercial side, even though it’s slowed down in other parts of the country,” Kunzman said.

Even so, a skilled craftsperson is difficult to find, so the company is sending employees to training programs.

“It is certainly much easier and less expensive to train an employee we have for a skill, than to try to find someone,” Kunzman said. “When we find someone who has talent, we try to find a way to keep them.”

The Alcoa Intalco Works plant in Ferndale also has adjusted to changes in order to stay busy.

Plant Manager Mike Rousseau said that while U.S. demand for aluminum is down as the economy slows, global demand is expected to keep increasing. In the past year, the smelter has hired more than 200 employees and now has a total of 650 employees.

While it has seen an increase in business, the smelter has no plans at this time to bring back a third pot line.