The Carriage Works designs, manufactures, paints and assembles kiosks, carts and retail merchandising units (RMUs) before shipping them off to malls and amusement parks across the country and around the globe.

“It’ll have our name on it, it says Klamath Falls,” said President Brian Dunham, during a recent tour of the plant.

“Does anybody know we’re here?” Dunham said, when asked the question. “Well, some people do because we try to do everything locally.”

Expansion in the works

Dunham bought the company from John and Barbara Evensizer in April 2015, and plans to expand the company’s presence in the Klamath Basin in 2016.

During the last year, the company has added five employees and has plans to add the room for more in 2016.

“We’ve got plans in progress of how we can add to this building and we’ve also looked around at what other options are available,” Dunham said, adding there is a growing market for the products being made.

“We want to stay in Klamath Falls, yet we need to find the place that can accommodate our growth.”

Origins of the name

The Evensizers began the business, as the name of the company suggests, building and selling carriages to Disneyland in 1978. The business eventually evolved, as the market and demand for products changed, and eventually moved toward the manufacture and sale of carts and kiosks sold today.

“Most of our business is not in Oregon,” Dunham said, although he said the company buys many of its materials and utilizes graphic design locally.

“We did just build a food trailer for the Oregon Zoo up in Portland,” Dunham added. “We hope to do quite a few more of those.”

Dunham has used services of Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA) and its business retention acumen to work toward its future.

KCEDA focuses on existing firms

“I would be surprised if they don’t grow at a very healthy rate,” said Rich Abel of KCEDA.

“What they do is such a neat story and I think that adds to the charm of a community.”

Abel has worked with Dunham on ways to boost the business here in Klamath Falls.

“Places like that are vital to a community like Klamath Falls because not only are they doing good business today, but they have vision of doing more good business tomorrow,” Abel said.

For Abel, helping a current business expand or add jobs is as important or moreso than luring a new company to the Basin.

“One of my jobs is to change perception,” Abel said. “It’s really easy to say we need new companies to come into town, but you can’t forget the ones that have already made that commitment.”

Giving companies the tools to make connections is also a key part of Abel’s job, such as identifying incentives for businesses.

“We can connect them with folks that can help them from a financing standpoint,” Abel said. “Especially if they’re going to add jobs.”

An effort to keep businesses in the Klamath Basin has garnered additional momentum.

“We’re all about attracting companies,” Abel said. “That’s huge for the economic development here and we foresee that happening.

“What we don’t want is companies doing business here to leave,” Abel added. “We want to retain them.”

To access this article on the Herald and News website, please refer to the link just below: 

Herald and News: Crafted in Klamath