Lights, camera, lasers: Could Montana’s photonics industry, 30 years on, be the answer to the low wage puzzle?

"When you have a cluster, it helps spur support organizations, whether they be marketing consulting firms, machining shops or all those people that support the business," Johnson said of the Montana Photonics Industry Alliance http://www.montanaphotonics.org/ . "You see connections being made between these people. Things grow out of that."

A report released earlier this year http://americanjobsproject.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MT-Full-Report-3.2017.pdf by the American Jobs Project estimated that, with support from the state and local organizations, Montana’s photonics industry could grow to support more than 6,300 jobs by 2030. However, the growth, the report noted, is dependent on three main factors: workforce development, outside capital funding and industry support.

Fontenot noted that the MTPIA was recently recognized by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, an international networking organization. And this type of recognition, he said, is what will facilitate future industry growth within the state and beyond.

By Lewis Kendall Chronicle Staff Writer

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