Plant expansion gets go-ahead

LIBBY, Mont. – The Montana Community Development Corporation has announced $17 million in financing to allow Stinger Welding to complete a fabrication plant that will bring at least 100 more jobs to Libby.

Stinger Welding, a fabricator of steel bridge components, has 43 employees in Libby. It began work on a 105,000-square-foot fabrication plant in 2009, but the project was put on hold because of financial challenges.

Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group qualified for federal tax credits to loan money to the project under a program aimed at increasing investment in low-income communities. Libby has struggled with losses in the logging industry and asbestos contamination from a vermiculite mine.

Stinger Welding said construction is expected to be complete in late August or early September. The plant is scheduled to begin production in the fall.