BUSINESS

Long in coming, AgriTech park start is picking up steam

Peter Johnson
pjohnson@greatfallstribune.com
Great Falls Development Authority President Brett Doney said he expects four companies to start construction on facilities this year at the Great Falls AgriTech Park along 18th Avenue North.
  • Ready to develop lots will be served by rail
  • Agriculture and energy-related companies expected

Building a shovel-ready, rail-served heavy industrial park has been a Great Falls economic development priority for years, Great Falls Development Authority President Brett Doney says, and he's now hopeful that the first four private companies will start construction on their facilities this year at Great Falls AgriTech Park.

"We hope to finish extending utilities and rails for the first four companies this year, and they each plan to start building this year," Doney said.

Two of the first four companies that are buying lots are local companies looking to relocate and expand their activities, while two are international, he said. Two of the four have a direct agricultural connection, while the other two do not.

"The timing is excellent," Doney said. "After a long, painfully slow recovery from the Great Recession, the natural economy is gaining steam. We see many opportunities, not just in agricultural processing, but in energy-related manufacturing, distribution and logistics."

Heavy equipment operators at Pacific Steel and Recycling sort scrap cars, metal and other recyclable products at the company’s 12th Avenue North location. The company plans to move both its recycling and steel operations to a new facility in Great Falls AgriTech Park.

Pacific Steel and Recycling, a regional company with headquarters and two operating facilities in Great Falls, bought 57 acres at the industrial park and plans to relocate its recycling and local steel operations there, starting first with recycling.

Montana Specialty Mills bought 20 acres and plans to move from its location near the West Bank of the Missouri River to the larger facility that will be served by rail.

Helena Chemical is purchasing two lots totaling 23 acres in the park and initially will build a 50,500-square-foot wholesale distribution facility primarily for its fertilizer products, said Brooks Hammel, manager of the company's wholesale businesses in Montana. That plant will employ 14 people making competitive, professional wages as warehouse managers, drivers and delivery folks and sales people.

Within a couple of years, the company could build a second, 30,000-square-foot facility to mix and blend agricultural products, employing another five workers, he said.

Helena Chemical has separate wholesale and retail facilities in Sidney, a retail store in Glasgow and wholesale facilities in Laurel and Havre.

"We sell fertilizer, seeds, other agricultural chemicals and services to dealers throughout Montana," Hammel said. "A Great Falls facility on rail and near major highways and within the Golden Triangle growing region will help us expand and serve our dealers with more products."

Incidentally, the company name Helena has nothing to do with Montana's state capital, he said. The company was started in 1957 in West Helena, Ark., and now has its headquarters near Memphis, Tenn. It's a major formulator and distributor of agricultural products and services, including fertilizer, other ag chemicals, seeds and application services. Its parent company is Marubeni, the huge Japanese company whose subsidiaries also including Columbia Grain and Kubota Tractors.

The fourth company plans to buy an 11.5-acre lot on which it will build a 60,000-square-foot distribution facility. Doney said it's an internationally known, not agricultural company that "does not wish to disclose its name yet."

Great Falls Development Authority put 1,100 acres in northeastern Great Falls under option to buy with the Loy Trust in 2010, but is focused in on 196 acres divided into 10 lots, Doney said.

It's just past the North Park Industrial Park on 18th Avenue North.

Many industrial companies seek to locate in such industrial parks for several reasons, Doney said. It costs much less to extend utilities and rail to one location. They can build quickly when the infrastructure, subdivision and zoning are in place. They'll be surrounded by other industrial users in an approved location and won't face complaints by neighbors who don't like nighttime and weekend operations.

Doney said it's taken time for the GFDA and its partners to put together money to develop the industrial park.

The GFDA already has invested $1.4 million into the park, counting grants, and has another $6.7 million in development costs to go, he said.

"We expect that $8 million in investment in the industrial park will lead to more than $65 million in facilities invested by the private sector when the 10 lots are filled," Doney said.

"We are working with the city and the four companies looking to build initially, and are making good progress, but have more work to do," he said.

Montana Specialty Mills, located on the West Bank of the Missouri River, plans to relocate to a new facility in the AgriTech Park east of Great Falls.

The two local companies, Pacific Steel and Montana Specialty Mills, have agreed to pay some of the upfront costs of extending rail and other utilities, and the GFDA is negotiating with the city to commit part of the later tax increment funds accruing from the industrial park to repaying the companies with interest.

"We're working with the city, BNSF Railway and utilities to finalize details," Doney said. "They have all been involved for many years in working to make this project happen."

Doney also thanked GFDA partners and officials with the city, Cascade County, Montana Agriculture and Commerce departments for their financial support and encouragement.

"This has been a challenging, but rewarding partnership effort," he said.