About

About Montana West Economic Development

Montana West Economic Development serves the Flathead Valley/Glacier Park Region in Northwestern Montana. We are a private, non-profit organization working in conjunction with Flathead County to promote economic diversity, job growth and healthy businesses.  Over 50 private businesses and community organizations support Montana West in our endeavors.

Some Recent Notable Results:

• Secured a $1.2 million grant from the Economic Development Administration for the purchase of property for a rail-served industrial park.
• Assisted Montana Venture Partners and the City of Kalispell to bring FedEx to Old School Station.
• Recruited WaveForm International to the  Flathead and assisted them in securing an $87,000 grant from the Montana Board of Reasearch and Commercialization Technology.
• Assisted in the attraction, expansion or retention of 40+ companies including:

                Western Building Center Truss Plant
                Hanson Trucking
                Pentana Group
               4-D Reamers
               TeleTech
               Total Label USA
               McGowen Precision Barrel
               MountainView Gardens
               Montana Sustainable Building Systems
               Montana Technical Solutions

• Made 29 loans for over $3 million to  companies in cooperation with  local lending  institutions.

Programs:

• Promote Flathead County as a desirable place to relocate or start a business with the One Valley, One Vision initiative
• Entrepreneur-To-Entrepreneur Seminar-Monthly  Program for business owners
• County and State Demographic Statistics-Available at Report Builder
• Established with partners: Flathead Tech, Flathead Manufacturers, PeerSpectives and Commercial Real Estate Roundtables
• Actively recruiting businesses in Metal, Gun and Outdoor Product Manufacturing
• Supporting the Sustainable Use of Forest Products in Manufacturing and Energy Production
• Big Sky Trust Fund, EDA and Work Force Training Grant application assistance

Selected Flathead businesses assisted by Montana West Economic Development:

• Teletech maintains growth trend and expands to 400+ employees with training and benefits for all employees.
• Total Label USA increases to 40 well-paid employees and expanding facilities after relocating to Whitefish, MT.
• Avail Media employs 15 with a payroll of over $1 million while providing On Demand Content to a variety of clients.
• Midway Rental Employees increase by 60% over a three year period, due in part to training grants.
• Creative Sales provides a unique line of creative products at their manufacturing facility with injection molding machines and 18 employees.
• F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber received a Big Sky Trust Fund feasibility grant to study the benefits and challenges of installing a bio-mass to electricity co-generation plant in partnership with local energy suppliers.
• Algae Aqua-Culture Technologies secured a $10,000Big Sky Trust Fund Grant and $350,000 Department of Enviornmental Quality grant for development of an alternative energy production system.
• Sonju Industrial excels at aerospace manufacturing and assembly.
• WaveForm International makes cutting edge technology available to opthamologists and optometrists both nationally and internationally from their R&D facility in Kalispell.
• Montana Technical Solutions, a network management solution company, will expand their operations to the Flathead in 2011.