Page 36 - Flathead Beacon // 10.26.16

BUSINESS MONTHLY
Food and Beverage Dominates Manufacturing Industry Explosion in breweries, wineries and distilleries a boost for local economy, including agriculture
BY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
The biggest shift in manufacturing in the Flathead Valley doesn’t have much to do with bending metal or microchips or lumber, but rather vending beverages and microbrews and lager.
Wineries, breweries, and distilleries represent the major increases in the Flat- head’s manufacturing sector this year, according to the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the University of Mon- tana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER).
“Food and beverage manufacturing is one of the hottest sectors we’re seeing right now,” said Joe Unterreiner, presi- dent of the Kalispell chamber.
The chamber recently nished its annual Manufacturing Month, which ran from Sept. 20 to Oct. 20. During the month, the chamber hosted tours of var- ious manufacturing businesses through- out the valley, from rearms producer Proof Research in Columbia Falls to Flat- head Lake Brewing Co. in Bigfork.
Throughout the tours of the various breweries and distilleries, Unterreiner said guests were presented with one of the biggest trends in manufacturing right now: connecting manufacturing to agribusiness.
The local-food movement contin- ues to gain momentum across America and Montana, and it is bleeding into the manufacturing of food and beverages, he said. More people are looking for locally sourced items, he said, like culled Flat- head cherries made into a drink at Gla- cier Distilling Co.
“Fertilizer from (dairy farm) Kalis- pell Kreamery is going to fertilize Gla- cier Hops Ranch, and the hops are being sent to local breweries,” Unterreiner said. “It’s a trend that we’re very much part of nationally. That area is a really unique blend of locally sourced product
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following the recession, is in ux, Unterreiner said, with mergers and consolidations.
“We’ve seen a lot of movement in that industry in the last ve years,” he said.
Precise machining remains a skill in high demand, and employers are still try- ing to ll good, well-paying manufactur- ing jobs. Unterreiner said businesses have reported working well with Flathead Val- ley Community College on the manufac- turing trade programs, but workers are still scarce.
Manufacturing Month also involved tours for students, so they could see the entire range of the sector, not just the machining aspects. The Flathead Man- ufacturing Alliance was also part of the month; the group started four years ago as a way to focus on issues a ecting the whole industry, not just pieces.
Mike Nye of Applied Materials is serv- ing as chairperson for the group, and said it has been an e ective tool.
“I think the big key is it gives us a focused group that can advocate for man- ufacturers,” he said. “We’ve got another legislative session coming up this win- ter — I’m sure some of us will wind up going down to testify. Instead of just one business going, we can have a little more pull, the perception of a larger body of businesses.”
Worker shortage continues to plague most manufacturers, Nye said, and other challenges for the industry include trans- portation. Unterreiner said the chamber is working on issues that a ect nearly all industries in the Flathead, and trans- portation, especially by air, is in the crosshairs.
But it’s been a banner year for food-and-beverage manufacturing, a sec- tor that Unterreiner said will likely con- tinue to perform well.
“It’s a hot industry right now,” he said.
mpriddy@ atheadbeacon.com
David Brendgard transfers the Steel Bridge IPA at Flathead Lake Brewing Company’s new facility in Bigfork on Dec. 12, 2014. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
movement in the agribusiness industry.” According to a study from the BBER that came out in August, beer produc- tion in Montana has increased by 87 per- cent since 2010, or roughly 13 percent per year. That momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing, the study said, with production having grown by 15 percent in 2015. From 2010 to 2015, sales increased by 111 per- cent and employment by 204 percent; expenditures increased by 140 percent
and payrolls by 154 percent.
The study concluded that this equates
to 1,044 additional permanent, year- round jobs in Montana, as well as more than $33 million in personal income in Montana households. Of those jobs, more than 700 were in the manufactur- ing aspect of the breweries.
Also, in 2014 and 2015, nearly 36 percent of agricultural purchases for making beer were from producers within the state, totaling $1.4 million in
expenditures in 2014 and $1.6 million in 2015.
Unterreiner said the fervor for local beer spills into restaurants as well, where their own local dishes receive special attention.
“It’s authentic, it’s locally made, you believe it’s going to be fresh, it’s not mass produced,” he said. “It’s really exciting to see that happening out there.”
The wood products industry contin- ues to su er in the Flathead, with the clo- sure of Weyerhaeuser’s plants in Colum- bia Falls. There’s also a continual supply issue.
“It’s tougher than ever to access tim- ber o of federal lands in the area,” Unter- reiner said.
The housing market is rebounding, which helps that sector, but the strong dollar continues to a ect exports, he said.
The rearms industry, which served as a buoyant force during and immediately
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OCTOBER 26, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM