USA, Great Falls: Local and state officials spent two years courting the owners of a huge barley-malting plant being built north east of Great Falls, Great Falls Tribune reported on November 13. Although that plant, owned by International Malting Co., is well under construction, those officials aren't sitting around doing a lot of back-patting. They are looking for ways to scrape together $200,000 for a study to find out what other businesses they should be trying to attract to the site. "We are just starting this thing and International Malting is our first project," Great Falls Development Authority President John Kramer said.

The plan is to use the extension of water, sewer and railroad tracks to the malt plant to lure other businesses that add value to Montana-grown commodities to town.

If the project, dubbed the "value-added commodity park," is successful, it will be much more than a local asset, Kramer said. The whole state will benefit.
"My personal view is that this should be the state's value-added commodity park," Kramer said. "It will cost $8 million for the infrastructure needed to make this happen. You can't build 10 of these parks in Montana. And obviously we didn't do it for just one tenant."

The infrastructure costs are being paid for with a combination of federal grants. The city also will back some of the bill for the water and sewer line extensions.

14 November, 2003