Tribe, company team up

Berg Integrated Systems, a Coeur d’Alene manufacturing firm, was looking for a new location and a cash infusion to expand its operations.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe wanted to diversify its business holdings.

Jobs Plus, Kootenai County’s job recruitment agency, introduced the two earlier this year. On Thursday, the tribe announced that it had purchased a majority stake in Berg.

Both parties described the sale as good synergy.

“When we talked to the tribe, we found that they were led by a well-educated, aggressive team, with goals similar to ours,” said Andy Barrett, managing partner in the Berg firm.

Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, said the tribal council is trying to expand job opportunities on the reservation by attracting light manufacturing.

With 10 employees, Berg Integrated Systems is relatively small firm, but has the potential to expand to 250 workers within several years, Allan said.

Native American ownership will makes Berg Integrated Systems more competitive for government contracts. By moving to the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, Berg will also be able to tap into federal contracting opportunities for small companies in economically distressed areas, Barrett said.

Barrett and his business partner, Craig Dolsby, remain minority owners of Berg Integrated Systems. They also own two related firms – Berg Manufacturing and Berg Flexible Containment. The companies supply tents, trailers, water and fuel containers to remote sites. Government and military contracts, to places such as Iraq and the hurricane-ravaged Gulf states, account for a significant part of the companies’ sales.

Berg Integrated Systems will make complementary steel parts for the two sister firms, such as frames for the tents, Barrett said. In addition, Berg Integrated Systems will also continue to sell its line of customized mining equipment and other specialty products.

By the end of July, the 8-year-old firm will finish moving into a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Plummer. The building, owned by the tribe, once housed a strawboard plant.

Berg Integrated Systems is currently located at 3443 Huetter Road, near a former industrial site being rebuilt as high-end housing along the Spokane River.

“The writing is on the wall,” Barrett said “They will not want a steel fabricator in the neighborhood.”

Berg also needs a larger space, he said. Within a year, the firm expects to hire additional welders, project engineers and other manufacturing personnel, he said.