Building a bridge
Stinger Welding employees work on a pedestrian bridge project for a park in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Kootenai Valley Record.
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Stinger ups workforce
Hires 8 more welders
by Kootenai Valley Record
December 30, 2009
Stinger Welding has increased its local workforce to 23 employees with the hiring of eight additional welders this month.
The local plant recently completed work on its first project – portions of a pedestrian bridge for Broomfield, Colo. – and is currently working on another pedestrian bridge. Welders are working in two shifts to build two 260-foot spans destined for San Jose, Calif.
The work is being done in the old central maintenance building at the Kootenai Business Park Industrial District. Construction of a new 200-by-500 foot building to permanently house Stinger’s local operations was initially planned for this fall but was put on hold until spring due to the onset of cold weather and associated difficulties with concrete work.
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 December 29, 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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