fbpx

Bullock Touts Montana Business During Visit to Gun Manufacturer

Kimber Manufacturing shows off its line of rifles and handguns to governor

By Justin Franz
Gov. Steve Bullock holds the Mountain Ascent rifle while touring Kimber Manufacturing, Inc., in Kalispell on Jan. 14, 2016. Rachel VandeVoort, trade relations manager, and Ryan Busse, vice president of sales, are pictured at left. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

During a recent tour with Gov. Steve Bullock, Kimber Manufacturing Vice President of Sales Ryan Busse showed off all the tools that make his job possible, chief among them the high-tech conference room enabling them to communicate with the gun maker’s New York branch.

But the ability to telecommute from an office in Montana isn’t the reason Kimber, one of the leading gun manufacturers in the country, decided to open up a branch here 21 years ago. Busse said it’s the great outdoors just beyond their front doorstep that made it possible.

“It would be really tough to get a sales team that is passionate about the outdoors if we weren’t able to give them access to the outdoors,” Busse said.

Bullock came to Kalispell for a tour of Kimber’s office on Jan. 14 to learn more about businesses choosing to locate in Montana because of the state’s outdoor lifestyle.

Kimber started as a rifle manufacturer in Oregon before moving to the east coast, where it has four gun factories in the New York metropolitan area. In the mid-1990s, the company decided to open up a branch in the Kalispell area and today it houses its sales, customer service, engineering and marketing employees. As of this year, 26 of the company’s nearly 500 employees are based in the Flathead.

Busse said being located in Montana is a beneficial recruiting tool for employees, especially those who are passionate about hunting.

“Kimber is here in the Flathead Valley because of the great access to our public lands,” Bullock said. “These high-paying jobs are here because of the great outdoor opportunities.”

During the visit, Kimber officials talked about the advantages and challenges of running a business in Northwest Montana. Travel costs to and from the valley are among the biggest issues. Busse noted that even though there is great access via Glacier Park International Airport, tickets are still expensive.

Bullock said his administration is working hard to attract business leaders looking to move their operations to Montana and held up Kimber as a primary example of what can be done thanks to technology.