Show Manti Mant plant helps Pacific Trail growth The Utah operations of Pacific ic Trail Sportswear at Manti ManU Man- Man ti U and Richfield Richfield have have contributed contributed contributed contrib contrib- greatly to the growth of the Seattle-based Seattle company which is noting 25 years in business this year Not too old not too young is the way Larry Mounger founder and president of the company describes his firm which is the largest manufacturer manufacturer manufacturer manu manu- of mens and boys outerwear outerwear outerwear out out- west of the Mississippi The company which started in Seattle in 1946 had six machines and 14 employees now has five ive plants including those in ManU Mantl and Richfield along with Seattle Spokane and Wenatchee Washington with a total of employees Of this number nearly POO OO were employed In the Utah oper- oper lions which last year resulted in an payroll in the two plants Mounger in noting his company's company's company's com com- mark recalls pany's year 25 the 74 hour weeks which wJ ch were the rule in the beginning By 1961 the Seattle plant had been enlarged 10 times the original footage and employees were turning out jackets a day But that was not enough A shortage of skilled power machine operators in the Seattle Seattle Seattle Seat Seat- tle area caused Mounger to broaden his Ws search for employees employees employees em em- and Manti came up with the answer an empty factory and skilled labor from previous small company operations The Manti Mantl plant was opened in April 1961 and soon was accounting ac counting for an additional jackets a day A year later the same problem problem problem lem faced the company too many orders and not enough jackets That's when the Richfield Richfield Richfield Rich Rich- field operation came into being and a second Utah plant was opened here As soon as Richfield operations operations operations opera opera- were established another jackets were being manu manu- The company is located located ed in the old Anona dance hall just east of Main Street where it has remained since for the past nine years Additional lines were added to the company's o offerings and anda a fourth plant was opened this one in Spokane Wash This plant has now become the largest of the company's facilities and with the four in operation over jackets a year were being turned out A near disastrous 1969 fire in the Seattle headquarters plant wJ which ch was eventually proven as arson and the persons responsIble responsible responsible sible captured slowed down production of the firm to a de degree degree degree de- de gree as the building patterns and records were lost along with 2 million orders which could not be shipped Limited production began three weeks after the fire and now the headquarters are lo located located located lo- lo in a new building The fifth company plant at Wenatchee Washington began in April with 25 employees with witha a planned expansion of Mounger does not discount the possibility of a sixth plant beIng being be being be- be ing opened by the end of this year if the demand continues to mount as rapidly as it has in inthe Inthe inthe the past The Manti and Richfield plants are managed by Lester Lesler Johnson who headquarters in Richfield Presently the Manti ManU operation employs and has hasan hasan hasan an annual payroll of half a million while the Richfield plant employs 75 persons and boasts an annual payroll of |