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AUGUST
30, 2006: An economic development group in Malta intends
to invest $50,000 to help launch a home production facility
in the Hi-Line community.
The Phillco Economic
Growth Council has a tentative agreement to invest in a company
called ATechBuilder Corporation, which wants to build affordable
energy-efficient homes in Malta and sell them across the Hi-Line
and in southern Canada.
The
company is selling shares and hopes to raise $1 million to
help start the production facility in Malta, and possibly
another in Roundup.
"We've
been working with Roundup a little bit longer than Malta,"
said Rick Downs, president of ATechBuilder Corporation. "However,
Malta has a little more to offer" in terms of location and
labor supply.
Downs
said his company, with the Phillco investment, has raised
almost $100,000 to date and needs to reach about $300,000
by mid-September to get the Malta facility up and running.
No investor money will be used until the $300,000 level is
reached, he said.
The
Billings-based Montana Business Incubator is holding money
from early investors in the project.
ATechBuilder
hopes to have homes to sell early next year. "Which means
we would have to start production this fall," Downs said.
The
number of workers at the facility will be tied to the number
of homes produced, Downs said, estimating an initial crew
and support staff could include 10 to 15 people.
Additionally, the
company could contract with other local people, including
building contractors and skilled trades-people, for some work.
The
motivation for Phillco to invest in the project is clear,
said Anne Boothe, the group's executive director.
"It's
jobs for Phillips County," she said. "We think it's a really
good fit with our potential work force."
The
growth council intends to tap a community fund to invest in
ATechBuilder. The fund was created in 2001 to help provide
assistance to qualified endeavors that would create jobs and
expand the local tax base, Boothe noted.
According
to Downs, the Montana Business Incubator program and Central
Montana Resource Conservation District have also committed
to investing in the company.
The
sale of shares in ATechBuilder has been registered with the
Montana Securities department, part of the state auditor's
office, officials said.
The
homes produced by the company are intended to offer affordable,
energy-efficient housing. There is a strong demand for such
housing in eastern Montana, northern Wyoming, the western
Dakotas and southern Canada, Downs said.
There
are currently a number of similar home manufacturers based
in Canada. Those companies, operating out of Saskatchewan
and Manitoba, are selling about 150 homes per year in North
Dakota.
"The
markets here are pretty large," Downs said. "When we say we
think we can sell 300 per year, we are being conservative."
The
homes look similar to "stick built" houses but are produced
at a centralized production facility and delivered in one
piece.
Downs,
a resident of Saskatchewan, said he has worked in the production
of such homes in Canada since 1983. ATechBuilder Corporation
has established an office in Billings.
Originally
published August 30, 2006 in the Great Falls Tribune
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