Stinger Welding
Stinger Welding employee John Myers cuts metal with a track torch. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
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Stinger plant goes to work
by Kootenai Valley Record
November 11, 2009
Stinger Welding’s Libby plant is being put to work on a pedestrian bridge project for Broomfield, Colo.
Workers in the old central maintenance building at Kootenai Business Park are manufacturing the stair structure for the bridge as their first "paying job," said Stinger safety and training manager Teri Kelly.
"It’s coming along," Kelly said. "The guys are excited to be working on something real."
The next job lined up for the Libby facility is the construction of two 260-foot spans for another pedestrian bridge destined for San Jose, Calif.
The Libby plant currently employs 15 people. The workforce could increase over the winter if more jobs come in, Kelly said.
Construction of a new 200-by-500 foot building to permanently house Stinger’s local operations has been put on hold until spring due to the onset of cold weather and associated difficulties with concrete work.
"It would have doubled our concrete costs," said Stinger human resources manager Duke Brown.
Headquartered in Coolidge, Ariz., Stinger is building the Libby facility with the help of a $3.3 million loan from the Montana Board of Investments along with a $3.2 million insurance settlement the industrial district received following the collapse of the old plywood plant roof under a heavy snow load, an $800,000 Community Development Block Grant, and a $400,000 grant from the Big Sky Trust Fund. The company plans to employ a minimum of 200 workers in Libby within the next four years.
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Editor’s Note: See the November 10, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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