State provides $5.7 million for Libby project
LIBBY - Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Monday presented $5.7 million in Montana Department of Commerce money to officials involved in the Stinger Welding business expansion project in Libby.
Stinger Welding, a bridge and expansion joint fabricator, is opening its first Montana operation at the Kootenai Business Park Industrial District in Libby.
The Coolidge, Ariz.-based company plans to build a 104,800-square-foot manufacturing facility that will employ a minimum of 204 people.
The first workers hired this month - 10 local welders - will train and begin production in an alternate building while the permanent facility is being constructed.
The welders will begin building expansion joints at the old central maintenance building on the former Stimson Lumber mill site around Aug. 3. Whether or not they will build other parts is still under consideration.
"It's exciting to get into the operational aspect and get people hired and working after this long of a period of time to get the business side" secured, said Doug Watson, general manager for the Libby facility.
Workers earlier this month tore out concrete foundations, kilns, steam tunnels and other structures from 80 years of previous use to prepare the site for the new building.
The facility is still in the design phase, but if everything goes according to plan, it will be up and running by February next year.
"That's our tentative target," Watson said recently, "but it's just hopeful thinking because not everything is in place to accurately predict that."
As soon as the building is ready to go, Stinger will expand operations and hire more people. The company plans to hire 70 to 80 welders, along with laborers, forklift drivers, a maintenance staff and an administrative staff, among others.
"We'll begin hiring people at a very rapid rate," Watson said. "The bulk of the people will be hired in that February-to-March time."
Watson said 12 welders would be hired per month until the target number is reached.
"Montana is open for business," Schweitzer said in presenting the money on Monday, according to a press release. "The state of Montana is proud to welcome Stinger Welding to Libby. This project will provide hundreds of good-paying jobs, many of which pay at least $13.55 per hour, on top of benefits. This project will play a prominent role in attracting other businesses to the Libby area and to Montana."
The money from the Montana Department of Commerce is made up of grants and loans from several programs:
n Workforce Training Grant: $1,020,000 for Stinger Welding to train a minimum of 204 workers within four years.
n Montana Board of Investments: $3,366,500 for Kootenai Business Park Industrial District as an infrastructure loan to purchase the land and building. Funds are provided through the Permanent Coal Tax Trust. Stinger will use this loan to pay back a construction loan from Glacier Bank.
n Community Development Economic Development: $800,000 for Lincoln County and the city of Libby for equipment purchases. Equipment will be owned by the industrial park and leased to Stinger.
n Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund: $529,000 for Lincoln County for equipment purchases. The money will support the creation of 71 jobs.
The total amount of leveraged money for the project is $7,100,000, according to the press release, including the $3.4 million to the industrial park district, a $2.7 million loan from Glacier Bank and the $1 million grant for Stinger.