BUTTE – Butte’s economy had its 2010 moment in the sun on Sept. 13 and 14, when it served as host of the Montana Economic Development Summit.
The event, organized by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced the city to entrepreneurs from throughout the region and to CEOs from some of the nation’s largest companies.
It was a marketing dream. But eventually, marketing must lead to jobs, investment and growth. Did the development summit bring any of those to the Mining City and Montana in general?
The short answer is yes. And that answer may get longer if more deals initiated at the event are struck.
SeaCast, a titanium casting company, broke news on the summit’s first day. They entered into a partnership with Unison Industries LLC to manufacture high-tech parts for General Electric jet engines.
People are also reading…
Those parts will be produced in SeaCast’s new foundry located in the Butte-Silver Bow TIFID, just off Interstate 15.
The foundry, which celebrated its grand opening in July, already employs more than 40 people. That’s more than were expected to be onboard in the first six months of operation.
And SeaCast’s fast start was just one highlight of what was a busy year for the industrial park. In addition, the TIFID saw construction begin on a new Federal Express freight transfer station,
the Port of Montana completed a $2.8 million expansion of its warehouse, infrastructure was improved and construction was undertaken on a bay for testing hybrid rocket fuels.
All of those irons were fired well before the development summit was even announced, but those companies were then given the chance to mingle with the multinationals.
Butte Local Development Corp. director Jim Smitham said the summit was an opportunity to not just rub elbows and exchange business cards. It allowed them to show off.
“Money couldn’t buy what that did for us,” said Smitham. “It was an incredible opportunity and I think Butte took advantage of it.”
Karen Byrnes, director of community development for Butte-Silver Bow, agreed.
“To get people here and show them what we are and how we function, I think it dispels a lot of myths about Butte and Montana,” she said. “People from the East Coast have this image in their heads of us riding horses. But we are very industrialized and understand what industry means.”
Private projects, like the rehabilitation of the Leonard Hotel, Eugenia Apartments and Sears Building (see story on Page 9) will open apartments for Uptown residents, who in turn may open their wallets for Uptown businesses.
But 2010 wasn’t all good news for the city.
Some leads simply went cold. Fuhrländer, a German company that manufactures wind turbines, promised Butte leaders in March that if the company expanded into North America, its first plant would be built locally.
Since then, however, the company has had no contact with any local representative and the project seems to have slipped off the radar. The estimated $25 million plant could employ up to 150 people if it comes to fruition, but that looks increasingly in doubt.
Fuhrländer was noticeably absent from the development summit, which made wind energy development in Montana a centerpiece.
MSE Inc., one of Butte’s largest employers since the mid-1970s, suffered through layoffs and has yet to receive federal appropriations promised more than a year ago.
St. James Healthcare, another top employer in the area, cut 40 employees and reduced hours for another 50 in July as it slimmed down to match declining patient numbers.
As the country slowly emerges from the nationwide recession, the brunt of which Butte sidestepped, the area’s economic leaders remain confident that the city’s best years are in front of it, thanks in part to Baucus’ summit.
“It has been a huge benefit, it will be a lasting benefit,” said Smitham. “More deals are sure to come.”
Reporter Tim Trainor can be reached at (406) 496-5519 or at tim.trainor@lee.net.
