Nomad GCS ready to put stakes down in Libby

Libby got a much-needed shot in the arm with the recent announcement that Nomad GCS is coming to town.

The 21-year-old company based in the Columbia Falls area is expanding its operations into Lincoln County because of the demand for its products and what it says is a skilled and driven workforce.

The company made the announcement in a news release Friday.

“Lincoln County is a natural fit for us,” Nomad GCS CEO Will Schmautz said. “The workforce in this area is highly skilled and driven. The community has been incredibly welcoming, and we believe our investment in infrastructure and local employees will be a win for everyone.”

The county, which has seen more than its share of economic woes over several years, currently has a 4.2% unemployment rate as of November 2022, the most current figures by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. With the exception of five Native American reservations, the county’s rate is third-highest in the state, behind only Mineral (4.7%) and Glacier (4.6%).

Lincoln County Commissioner Brent Teske was more than pleased to hear the news.

“I’m happy and excited to see it,” Teske said. “It will be great for the local economy and generally all-around. We get a stable industry and I hope it inspires other businesses to come here.”

Teske also felt that the company’s ability to be diversified and secure contracts with several government agencies is key.

“That’s how all the big corporations succeed,” he said. “You gotta be diversified.”

According to Nomad’s Clay Binford, the company is in the final stages of buying the building at 225 Industry Way. To locals, it was originally known as the home of Stinger Welding from 2010 to 2013.

“Renovation and start dates are going to be dependent on final closing, but we anticipate a January/February timeframe,” Binford wrote in an email to The Western News.

The location, built with $3.3 million from the county, was first home to Stinger Welding, an Arizona-based bridge building company, from 2010 to 2013. It declared bankruptcy in 2013 with $5.8 million in debt after CEO Carl Douglas died in December 2012 in an airplane crash on Swede Mountain.

The location was then home to Texas-based Isotex Health, a hemp producer, from the fall of 2019 to early 2020 before questionable business dealings derailed the startup company.

Kootenai Tec, which owned the Stinger building, accused Isotex of failing to make timely interest payments on a $7 million loan facilitated by Kootenai Tec, court documents said. Isotex was also accused of failing to properly document improvements to the site and mishandled the loaned money, court documents said.

Later, an effort to bring a fiberboard factory to the location in 2021 fell flat.

Kenny Rayome Jr., the Executive Director of Operations for the Lincoln County Port Authority, said he is very optimistic about Nomad coming to Libby.

"They didn't ask for anything, other than a location," Rayome Jr. said. "It's a key difference between other companies which have been in that building - there is no money coming from the county.

"I facilitated getting them a location and it's really awesome. They are a good bunch of guys and the fact they are Montana natives helps to know them better," he said. "I think they will be in it for the long haul and it will help this community provide for itself."

Senator Steve Daines also lauded the news.

“Montana’s local communities like Libby are a natural fit for forward looking businesses — glad to see Nomad GCS’ continued growth and lasting commitment to investing into our great state,” Daines commented in an email.

The company, in operation since 2002, builds what it calls “connected mobile operations centers.”

They are more commonly known as mobile command centers and are used widely by federal, state and local governments. Their clients include the U.S. Military, NASA, Verizon Wireless, FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cisco, Dell and countless emergency management agencies throughout the United States. 

Nomad has built command centers that were used to help clean-up work after Hurricane Katrina, for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for use after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. They’ve also built tactical command vehicles for the National Guard, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and other agencies.

Locally, Nomad built the Winkley Mobile Mammography healthcare vehicle for Logan Health, a few years ago. The vehicle incorporates leading-edge 3D imaging capabilities and supports mammography and ultrasound technologists who can connect at any time with radiologists and other colleagues at Logan Health.

The need that sparked the business two decades ago – keeping those organizations connected and operational anywhere, at any time – has risen, and the Columbia Falls-based company now employs nearly 200.

Mike Hahn, marketing director for Nomad, said the company's initial goal is to hire 20 to 50 people with a goal of 100 to 200 in the future. The pay range is $18 to $25 per hour.

While Nomad’s manufacturing volume has amplified, so have client expectations.

“For our customers, lives and property are literally on the line,” Schmautz said. “They need partners who can deliver the highest level of quality and do it quickly.”

After planned facility and property renovations, Nomad will stand up two CMOC production lines in Libby, one focused on van-based operations centers, the other on military-spec shipping container-based solutions.

“Nobody else in the industry is providing the highly-specialized solutions we are,” Schmautz said. “But to stay in front, we need to grow. Lincoln County is a key part of that strategy.”

Binford urged people who may be interested in working for the company to see its website at https://www.nomadgcs.com/.

“We’re excited about this expansion and actively looking for talented individuals to join our team,” Binford said. “Folks should definitely visit our website, check out the careers page, and get their applications in.”