Flathead Valley manufacturers turn out breadth of products while facing range of challenges

Manufacturers are a unique piece of the Flathead Valley economy.

They run the gamut of multi-generational businesses that have been here for more than a century all the way to startup companies in operation for about a year. The products they create are sold locally and internationally. There is incredible diversity in their products, including health supplements, wood products, tactical vehicles, firearms, beer and parts for rocket ships, notes Jenn Cronk with the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s an entire ecosystem of work opportunities for our valley that these companies provide,” Cronk told folks gathered on Tuesday for the chamber’s October luncheon. “And they are buying purchases from businesses for services and the wages earned by their employees are being reinvested in our economy here.”

The chamber put a spotlight on the industry during the event held at Flathead Valley Community College with a panel discussion featuring representatives from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber, Defiance Machine, RightOn Trek and Glacier Hops Ranch.

Manufacturing is often forgotten in the Flathead Valley, noted Paul McKenzie of F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber.

“The Flathead Valley is not just a tourist destination,” said McKenzie, vice president of the lumber company. “You have to work a job before you can take a vacation. We love visitors, but we are also an important part of the economy.”

The manufacturers outlined some of the operational challenges they are facing including shipping in and out of the valley, supply chain delays and shortages, and finding and retaining workers.

Rachel Covey, with RightOnTrek, said that as a newly formed company it has been difficult to deal with supply chain shortages. The company provides backcountry gear rentals and trip-planning services but also sells packaged dehydrated meals.

“As a startup, the long lead times for ordering have been a challenge,” she said. “We have to order preprinted packages for six plus months in advance without knowing how many of them to bring in and we don’t have a sales forecast for that. So you’re kind of trying to look into a crystal ball and say how many packages of chicken alfredo are we going to sell?”

Defiance Machine has also faced challenges in the supply chain as part of its work manufacturing custom bolt rifle actions. Kevin Peterson, the company’s chief operating officer, says the company has a 50-week lead time for the steel that it uses.

“We have to know how much metal we’re going to need next year and that’s especially challenging as the company has been growing at over 20% over the last three to four years,” he said. “The other thing I see is that the delivery truck also doesn’t always want to come this far north because there is no product for them to take back.”

Some outlined challenges faced in delays while shipping their products overseas, and also how supply chain issues have meant maintaining older equipment because buying new isn’t an option.

LEARNING TO adapt to change has kept Stoltze operating, McKenzie said, and some of that change means a difference in the employees it recruits. The company employs about 120, but has been running about 10% short for the last three to four years.

“While in 1923 we were maybe looking for employees with a strong back,” said McKenzie. “Today we’re looking for computer programmers and electricians, and people who are self-motivated. There is a lot of training that is involved and we have to work to make sure people know that working in a sawmill is no longer stacking logs by hand.”

One of the ways to find a future workforce is to tell the story of manufacturing better, he added later.

“We need to talk about the value of manufacturing — these are professional jobs that are just as valuable as a doctor or an attorney,” McKenzie said. “We need to sit around the dinner table and talk about manufacturing jobs instead of telling our children to make something of themselves by doing something else.”

At Glacier Hops Ranch, Tom Britz said the focus has been on creating a corporate culture that starts with him as founder and CEO and carries through all his employees.

“If I don’t follow it then it means nothing,” he said. “The best way to find new people that fit that culture is through referrals.”

In addition in terms of retention, the company has found success with its employee stock plan where over a period of time they can earn equity in the company.

“I think that has helped an awful lot because everybody feels like they’re pulling the rope in the same direction,” Britz said.

RightOnTrek has been producing about 1,000 meals per day with goals set to scale up to 50,000 meals per day. Finding employees that can adapt to a changing environment has been key, Covey said.

“We’re really finding that having a workforce that’s multi-talented and able to deal with those shifting plans, especially with being a startup, is important,” she said.

Finding the right people that fit with the culture of the company has been the goal at Defiance Machine, says Peterson, noting that the company would rather operate with fewer employees than hire those that aren’t the right fit. The company has been attending job fairs at colleges around the country recruiting future employees and during the interview process takes the step of having current employees go out to lunch with prospective employees.

“We’re willing to take anyone and we can train people to run the machines,” he said. “We just need the right people.”

The company has had to raise employee's salaries because of rising housing costs, Peterson added.

“We’ve lost people because they have to move back home because of the cost of housing,” he said. “You have to have a place for people to live.”

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.