LiV Golf Car company moves ahead

To look around the assembly area of LiV Golf Cars, first noticeable is the 26 chassis of mostly assembled golf cars. Then, it’s the absence of workers.

To hear LiV Golf Cars Facility Manager Phillip Erquiaga tell it, the business located in the Port Authority Maintenance Building, is on the cusp of breaking loose.

“We have these cars nearly ready for sale,” Erquiaga said last week. “(CEO Hoster) Jon is in California this week looking for buyers.”

Erquiaga and one other employee started assembly, he said, on Christmas Eve.

“If all goes as planned, we will be looking at doing some hiring by the end of March or early April.”

On Monday, Hoster said his West Coast sales trip is proving fruitful.

“We were a little slow out of the chute, but things are picking up,” Hoster said. “I have quotations for about 200 cars from five courses. We do anticipate hiring about five or six at the end of March or early April and hiring more about June, July or August.”

Funding agreements with Montana require the start-up company to have 22 employees by September 2015.

LiV Golf Cars is a state-of-the-art lithium battery-powered golf car that differs from conventional lead-acid battery-powered golf cars. These cars, which will include both aluminum- and steel-framed models, are more easily maintained because battery charges last longer and the batteries have a longer life, Erquiaga said.

“Right now, if Jon comes back and has these sold, I could have them ready in 10 days,” Erquiaga predicted.

During the 30-minute tour of the spacious facility, Erquiaga said he envisions a production facility where more parts of the car are actually made in Libby.

He said the current Libby production is mostly an assemblage of parts manufactured elsewhere.

“We’d like to point where we even make the electrical harnesses here,” Erquiaga said. “Right now, we’re having those made outside, but it’s conceivable we can do it here. Who knows, we may even be able to do some painting (of car bodies) here.”