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Page 1 of 2 Company information: WGM Group, Inc. is a Missoula-based engineering and land-use planning firm. The company has been a resource to the Missoula community and surrounding region for more than forty years working on high-level projects like design and land use planning for the Missoula Sawmill District, the Highway 93 Hamilton to Victor transportation project, and multiple public water projects to name a few. WGM Group currently employs 27 engineers, planners, and support staff at its Missoula headquarters. The company provides a comprehensive benefits package to all of its full- time employees, which includes health, dental and optical insurance, a cafeteria plan, 401(K), holidays and paid time off. WGM is an active member of the Missoula Area Economic Development Corporation, the Missoula Downtown Association, and the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce, in addition to multiple other industry-related associations. The company recently invested in a new facility in the Downtown District of Missoula, purchasing a vacant building using assistance from the SBA 504 program. The Project: WGM Group, Inc. is expanding its services to include an Industrial Design Division. This addition to the firm’s capacities will create three new jobs over the next two years, all of which pay well above the area’s median wage. Of these three new jobs, two will be created immediately; the third position will be created within two years of the award. Due to the nature of the cash cycle of the engineering industry, the company is seeking assistance from the Big Sky Trust Fund for working capital costs during the start-up phase of this division. Need for a local Industrial Design team is growing, as more and more industrial facilities are being vacated of their initial operations, leaving opportunity for innovative reuse of these community assets. Examples of these sites include the Smurfit Stone Container Frenchtown Pulp Mill, the Stimson Lumber Plywood and Stud Mills in Bonner, and the Plum Creek Pablo Sawmill, to name a few. In addition to the reuse of industrial sites, this team will also specialize in the design and implementation of renewable energy projects and proto-types, teaming with private businesses to add to Montana’s resources for innovation in this emerging industry. WGM Group has interviewed three engineers formerly employed at the Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation Frenchtown Pulp Mill. These uniquely qualified individuals are looking for any opportunity to stay in Montana. At this time, opportunities for Industrial Engineers are abundant in almost every other state outside Montana. The advent of the WGM Group Industrial Design Division gives the State of Montana the benefit of retaining these great minds in the State’s talent pool. ---PAGE BREAK--- Page 2 of 2 State Assistance: Assistance from the Big Sky Trust Fund will enable WGM Group to build its workforce, expand its services, and capitalize on an opportunity to provide services locally to regional industrial sites and plans for their reuse. At this time, Industrial Engineer teams are often brought in from other States. This specialized team will allow a Montana company to become competitive this niche market throughout the region. Economic Benefit: One clear benefit of this project is the retention of talent in the Montana workforce. The three engineers recently laid-off by Smurfit Stone Container who have been interviewed for these positions are keenly interested in staying in Montana, however opportunities for their specialized skills are simply not available outside this new Industrial Design Division being created at WGM Group. State assistance will provide the resources needed to create these jobs, and keep these great minds in Montana. In addition to the benefit to the State’s workforce, the creation of an Industrial Design Division at WGM Group will give projects across the State of Montana access to in-state talent for bio-mass innovation, industrial reuse and retooling planning and a multitude of other specialized industrial design needs. At this time, when the cellulose economy has merely scratched the surface of the opportunities that certainly lie ahead, the addition of this team to Montana’s professional infrastructure will embolden communities across the region, and place Montana in a competitive position to compete for contracts which otherwise would go to out-of-state companies. Job Title # of Jobs BSTF Assistance WGM Group Anticipated Hire Date Hourly Wage @ Hire Mechanical Engineer 1 7,125.00 4/1/2010 40.00 Chemical Engineer 1 7,125.00 4/1/2010 40.00 Mechanical Engineer 1 7,125.00 1/31/2011 40.00 Totals 3 $21,375.00