Building firms feel big impact

Copper thieves are making their mark in the Flathead Valley and Montana, particularly hitting construction companies.

Thieves have stepped up their efforts in recent months, often taking the stolen copper to recycling facilities and scrap yards where they can cash in.

Thefts of the metal are most commonly in the form of welding leads and copper wiring, usually from construction sites.

Cary Hegreberg, executive director of the Montana Contractors’ Association, said the thefts have escalated into a significant problem for contractors across the state.

“We’re actually referring to it as vandalism,” Hegreberg said. “In many cases these thieves are stripping equipment — sophisticated equipment — of copper cabling. The cost for repairs and replacement far exceeds the value of the material.”

He gave one example of a contractor running an asphalt manufacturing facility whose equipment was stripped of copper cabling. The cost to the company was roughly $30,000 in out-of-pocket expenses and seven weeks of down time while the equipment was repaired.

In the Flathead Valley, Knife River and Schellinger Construction both have been victimized by copper thieves, including a $60,000 theft from Schellinger in February 2012.

“We’re researching a way to consider the scope of the crime to include the cost of repairs,” Hegreberg said. “Right now, law enforcement looks at the scope of the crime as being the value of the recycled material.”

What has been the most helpful, he said, is the aid contractors are receiving from recycling and scrap companies, especially Pacific Steel and Recycling.

“Pacific tries to do the right thing,” Hegreberg said, adding, “We’re not trying to penalize companies that are trying to do the right thing, but yet we know there are players out there that are purchasing stolen material and we are trying to dissuade them from doing so.”

Rich Evers, a sales associate at Pacific, laid out the practices set in place at the recycling firm’s Evergreen facility.

He said state law requires that any person who recycles more than $50 worth of any non-ferrous product — any material that does not contain iron in significant amounts — must have information from a driver’s license attached to the transaction.

“We have an ID scanner, which takes a picture of the driver’s license and creates a file for that individual,” Evers said. “It keeps a log of all their activity every time they come in and recycle more than $50 of whatever. At any time, the police department can request to see the activity of that consumer and we can provide that information.”

Evers said the company regularly receives calls about stolen materials as well as visits from law enforcement.  

HEGREBERG SAID despite the widespread nature of the crimes, he hears complaints from the association’s members about the efforts of law enforcement to curb the problem.

“What we’re finding is that law enforcement around the state is reluctant to pursue these cases, and frankly we’ve been told that’s particularly true in Flathead County,” Hegreberg said. “We would very much like to see law enforcement take a more aggressive stance pursuing these thefts and vandalism.”

That came as news to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, who said he has never received a complaint regarding his office’s efforts related to the crimes and that he was surprised and disappointed to hear Hegreberg’s comments.

“We take every crime and certainly every property crime very seriously and investigate them all to the best of our ability,” Curry said. “I certainly would welcome anyone who is unhappy with our response or thinks we aren’t taking them seriously to contact me. We try to do the very best job we can, and when people publicly complain without trying to get their concerns addressed, it’s unfortunate.”

In defense of his office’s work, Curry pointed to the arrest of 28-year-old Kalispell resident Dustin Marvin on Dec. 23. Marvin was believed to have been preparing to steal copper wire when he was arrested at 12:30 a.m. on the property of Rocky Mountain Contractors.

Curry said his office is investigating the possibility that Marvin is connected to other copper thefts. He also hinted at other ongoing investigations, but declined to give any details. He did say that a group under scrutiny also is involved in drug activity.

He noted that copper thefts have been on the rise in Flathead County for some time, but that they have increased substantially over the last six months.

SCHELLINGER CONSTRUCTION Operations Manager Rob Koelzer said the biggest theft was in February, when someone got away with $60,000 worth of copper items, but he said Schellinger has continued to be hit sporadically.

“We can’t even keep track of all the times we’ve lost welding leads off equipment,” Koelzer said. “That big heist out at our Jellison Road pit, they were there for three or four hours probably, backed a trailer in and everything. They basically cut all the wire to a whole crushing plant setup. That’s four or five different components and all the wires that connect them together.”

He added that whoever perpetrated the theft knew the equipment, where to go and what to take.

“They possibly worked for us in the past,” Koelzer said. “Maybe it was an inside job.”  

Schellinger is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who committed the crime.

Koelzer said the Montana Contractors’ Association is offering its own $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any copper thief in the state.

At Knife River, spokesman Tony Spilde said the company has had several incidents, but declined to give specifics.

“The theft from our main office in Kalispell was relatively minor, but it is symptomatic of a larger problem of copper theft in Montana,” Spilde said.

The firm filed a police report and augmented security, including video surveillance, at its sites.

“We’ve been fortunate,” Spilde said. “We’ve only had that one incident. I know other contractors haven’t been so fortunate.”

The new year has brought a new wave of the crimes, with two occurring on Jan. 1 — a theft of copper wire from a Cooperative Way business in Kalispell and a report that someone cut a hole in the fence at a Jellison Road business, where an employee was concerned the culprit was planning to come back and steal wire.

The thefts continue even as the price of copper remains relatively low at just $3.59 per pound as of Dec. 27. That compares to more than $1,600 per ounce for gold.

Copper prices reached a high of nearly $4.50 per pound in 2011 before plummeting to roughly $3.20 in September of that year. Since then, the price has continued to fluctuate but remains in the range of $3.30 to $3.80.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.