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Great Falls business, government leaders bullish on 2004

Bill Johnstone

President, D.A. Davidson & Co.

Employees: 706 (226 in Great Falls)

"Our business has rebounded significantly over the last four or five months," said Johnstone, who will become the chief executive officer of the Davidson Cos. later this month. "We are optimistic that’s going to continue. Our outlook is quite positive about the opportunities in 2004."

The reason for Johnstone’s optimism? The rebound in the stock market.

D.A. Davidson, the securities brokerage firm that is the largest of the Davidson Cos., relies heavily on individual investors in Montana and across the region.

Those folks "are much more optimistic and have been more interested in investing and have been acting on that interest," Johnstone said.

If the investment climate remains healthy, the prospect for job growth at the Great Falls-based firm looks decent.

"As we grow our business throughout the Pacific Northwest, we will add people in Great Falls to support that growth," Johnstone said. "I suspect we will have some modest hiring in Great Falls."

By JAMES E. LARCOMBE, JO DEE BLACK, LAURA POLLAND
TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040104/localnews/163019.html

Leslie Oakland

President, City Motors

Employees: 95

New products, a veteran sales staff and plans to boost inventory have Oakland excited about 2004.

But 2003 was a good year for City Motors, the Chevrolet, Toyota and Cadillac dealer in Great Falls. Oakland said City ranked fourth among Montana new-car dealers in sales last year

"We feel good about that," she said. "Everything has been positive."

Even sales to agricultural producers have been steady, despite persistent drought.

"We haven’t seen a change in that buyer," Oakland said. "We do a lot of business with farmers and ranchers around here."

City plans to boost its inventory, especially in trucks, in anticipation of a strong 2004.

"We probably will start out the year with maybe a 100 more than usual," Oakland said.

Strong interest in Cadillac products, Chevrolet trucks and SUVs and a new full-size truck from Toyota should drive sales, she noted.

While employment at the dealership has remained stable for a number of years, City hired four additional salespeople in the latter part of 2003. "If we find good salespeople, we will hire them," Oakland said.

Beth McFadden

Director of Operations, N.E.W. Customer Services Cos.

Employees: 600

Lack of room means there probably won’t be additional jobs at N.E.W. Customer Services in 2004, said Beth McFadden, the director of operations in Great Falls. But overall, the Virginia-based company’s business is booming.

"Our business has been very different than the national economy the past two years," she said. "We’ve had record profits the last two years and forecast similar results this year."

The fourth floor of N.E.W.’s building on Central Avenue is vacant and needs to be remodeled to add more workstations. There are no plans for such remodeling in 2004, she said.

N.E.W.’s growth is happening in a number of areas, McFadden said. A pilot program with 700 Toys ‘R’ Us stores over the holidays helped customers get everything from replacement products of electronic games to bikes. The program was successful and now the toy superstore signed up for a year-round program.

A fee-based service plan offered by DirecTV that N.E.W. handles is exceeding all expectations.

"We are growing our business with existing clients and getting new clients for our warranty service programs," McFadden said. "And we are expending our business by creating new products retailers didn’t offer in the past."

John Goodnow

President & CEO, Benefis Healthcare

Employees: 2,029

Benefis Healthcare has to balance its roles as a community hospital and the state’s largest hospital.

"Benefis struggles with rising costs, shrinking reimbursements, and caring for the poor and uninsured while assuring that we offer the region the highest quality health care, the latest in technology and excellent customer service," said Goodnow.

To meet these needs, Benefis Healthcare soon will finalize its master site facility plan outlining the next decade’s needs and plans for both campuses.

It has several projects slated for 2004.

Early in the year it plans to break ground for a comprehensive, regional cancer center on its east campus.

On the west campus, it plans to establish a long-term acute care facility.

Benefis also plans to expand its heart program and establish a statewide bariatric surgery program, Goodnow said.

The largest private employer in the county, it anticipates stable to growing employment in 2004.

Lonnie Anderson

President, United Materials

Employees: 100 (at seasonal peak)

In 2003, "we had a good year," said Anderson. "There was a fair amount of work that we have done."

The key this year for United Materials, which does paving, concrete, sand and gravel work, will be the amount of money that government entities ultimately spend on road and street projects in Great Falls and northcentral Montana.

Anderson said several substantial projects, including reconstruction of 15th Street in Great Falls, work on a Northeast Bypass project and possible overlay work on 10th Avenue South, could mean available work in 2004.

"Someone has to come up with the money, whether it’s the city or state or the feds," Anderson said.

There is one other essential element in predicting United Materials fortunes in the coming year.

"It depends a lot on how it shakes out at bid time," Anderson noted.

While hiring at United Materials spikes in the warmer months, predicting employment levels isn’t easy, he said.

"That all depends on how much work we get," Anderson said.

N.E. "Tuck" Vosburg

CEO, Pacific Steel & Recycling

Employees: 550 (80 in Great Falls)

As the U.S. economy improves, so do the prospects for Pacific Steel and Recycling, said Vosburg.

Strong prices for scrap iron are a reason for optimism.

"We are seeing scrap iron prices at historic levels and we are seeing steel prices being boosted up," Vosburg said. "Those things have made things look rather rosy in the steel industry."

Pacific has operations in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. Improvement in agricultural conditions has helped boost business at Pacific.

"We are very agriculturally oriented," Vosburg said. "The cattle prices particularly have influenced the ranchers to spruce up a little bit more. We have a lot of fence products that ranchers use and we have seen stronger sales there."

Pacific could add workers in the steel and recycling areas if business remains good in coming months.

"There is some prospect for hiring but I can’t attach any particular numbers to that," Vosburg said.

Lance Lerud

Manager, Wal-Mart

Employees: 620

The Great Falls Wal-Mart will add a new $350,000 indoor garden center this spring to keep petunias and marigolds protected from late-spring frosts.

The store’s manager, Lance Lerud, expects all other aspects of his store’s business to be equally rosy in 2004.

"I’m bullish, at least until the election, I don’t see any negative trends," he said. "Interest rates are still low and our tax situation means most people have more disposable income right now."

During a presidential election year, which this is, people start to get a little nervous. Concerns that interest rates will drop before voting day then go up after those votes are tallied, can make people hesitant about spending, he said.

Lerud said Wal-Mart had a stellar year in 2003, but he hopes those sales figures won’t prompt corporate officials to add a second Electric City store.

"We’ve heard rumors of a second store for two years," he said. "It’s happened in Missoula and Billings and it’s always the hardest on the existing store."

Wal-Mart’s work force swells to about 620 during the Christmas holidays. About 65 of those employees were temporary.

"We start hiring more help again in March, but I’m not sure how the new indoor garden center will affect that yet," Lerud said.

John Lawton

City Manager, Great Falls

Employees: 430

Great Falls residents seem to be experiencing a self-esteem boost, said Great Falls City Manager John Lawton.

"The attitude in the community is better now than it has been since I got here in 1990," he said.

And there’s good reason, Lawton said.

We’ve made progress as far as the economy goes and Lawton expects more of the same in 2004.

"There will be growth in Great Falls as a medical center with the plans of the Great Falls Clinic and Benefis," he said. "We’ll see continued growth in our value-added agriculture park with the construction of the malt plant. Great Falls Development Authority is working hard to get other tenants in there."

Higher education may be a bright spot this year, with enrollment numbers at MSU-Great Falls College of Technology and a focus to bring more traditional students to the University of Great Falls, he said.

City codes pertaining to zoning are in line for a revamping this year, but Lawton said that alone won’t bring a flood of new development.

"It just adds to the overall climate for growth, makes us ready to accommodate it," he said. "But that’s not going to kick it off all by itself."

Mary Sheehy Moe

Dean, Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology

Employees: 225

"I think the college is going to have a really great year," said Sheehy Moe.

More traditional-age students right out of high school and transfer students with some college credits are expected to boost enrollment, currently around 2,000.

Increased enrollment means increased faculty. "When you have this kind of growth you certainly need to add the personnel to support it," she said, adding that the college could use four to six new faculty along with associated support staff.

The college will continue to emphasize its occupational programs in high-demand sectors such as health care. It also will continue working with the business community to help businesses to stay and expand in Great Falls.

Montana is looking to its urban centers for growth, and a better environment for existing businesses means more attractions for newcomers, she said.

Susan Humble

President, Anderson Steel Supply Co.

Employees: 87

"I don’t look for any real momentum until the end of 2004," said Humble. After a slow start, however, she expects 2004 to be a better year than 2003 for her company and the industry in general.

Anderson Steel, which has 87 employees between its Great Falls headquarters and Billings location, supplies steel and related products and services to customers in the western United States. "Around the nation, (I’m) continuing to see good work going in Las Vegas and Phoenix, and I see that will continue," with Montana-based projects picking up around the end of the year, she said.

Anderson Steel already was looking for two or three new employees in Great Falls at the end of December so they would be trained and ready when demand picks up. It may add two or three more in Billings next summer, Humble said.

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