USA: International Malting Co. announced plans last year to build a $60 million malting plant north of Great Falls. A $33.7 million loan from the Montana Board of Investments was the most significant economic incentive, said John Kramer, president of the Great Falls Development Authority.

The loan is believed to be the largest in the 20-year history of the board, which makes loans from the state's coal-tax trust fund.

The plant is expected to go on line in 2005 and will process between 8 million and 12 million bushels of malting barley a year. Kramer said the malt plant would provide about 35 full-time jobs.

The biggest benefit of the plant isn't necessarily its payroll, but the creation of a market for value-added Montana agriculture products. Kramer estimates that the malting plant will generate between $10 million and $20 million a year in economic benefits.

21 May, 2004