News

Smoke getting in her pocket – Kim Waltee is guiding Montana Mountain Smoke to new success

In just over a decade, Kim Waltee has turned a hobby into a burgeoning business. In that time, she turned her back on a 20-year career as a hairdresser, earning a reputation in the process as Montana’s "Smoke Fish Queen."

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Business Editor

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/01/25/business/e01012504_01.txt

Waltee’s business, Montana Mountain Smoke, operates out of an expanded garage next to her Montana City home. But while the business could still be categorized as home-based, it’s rapidly outgrowing the confines of her 1,500 square-foot shop, even though she’s added onto the building twice.

Montana Mountain Smoke first hung its shingle in 1993.

***********

Montana Mountain Smoke Inc

10 Elkhorn View Rd

Montana City MT

59634

406-449-4755

***********

"I always had an interest in smoking fish, and people started bringing me their fish to smoke," she said. "It was just kind of a hobby at first."

Before long, Waltee found herself knocking on grocers’ doors, looking for local outlets to sell her product.

"I’d make some up and travel around to different stores," she said. "Back then you could just go into a store, and if a meat manager liked it, you’d get in."

Today, her smoked sockeye salmon, keta salmon and rainbow trout can be found in Albertson’s, Smith’s, Van’s, County Markets and Associated Food Stores around the state, as well as at locations in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. While she doesn’t sell on the Internet yet, Waltee does do business by mail order.

Once the fish business was up and running, Waltee sought a way to branch out when she decided to try making a salmon cream cheese spread. It proved as succesful as the fish itself, if not more so.

The first batch of spread was made with a three-pound block of cream cheese and a hand mixer. Today, she buys the cheese in 30-pound blocks, 1,500 pounds at a time, mixes the spread in a commercial mixer and turns out 2,000 tubs of the spread per batch. Last year, she sold 35,000 tubs of salmon spread — a nice complement to the 13,000 pounds of fish she smoked.

Now, the business is poised to really take off. Waltee recently was awarded a $50,000 matching grant from the Montana Agriculture Development Council’s Growth Through Agriculture program. She’ll use the money to put together a business plan, create some fresh marketing materials and perhaps develop a presence on the Web.

******************

see: Montana Agriculture Development Council Announces Awards – Next Application Deadline is January 31, 2004 http://www.matr.net/article-9331.html

******************

"It’s the type of company and the type of business people want to see do well and prosper," said Brent Poppe, bureau chief for Agriculture Marketing and Development Bureau. "She’s the epitome of the Montana small business entrepreneur. She’s been going along doing business in the Helena area and the state for a while, and now she’s taking the next step."

That next step, Waltee hopes, will grow the business enough to double sales and necessitate one to three full-time employees and additional seasonal help. Today, she hires some help around the holidays and relies on friends and family for lots of additional assistance.

Waltee admits that even though the business has been successful beyond her expectations, the prospect of growth can be daunting.

"What’s kind of hard is being a small business and watching sales grow, then you have to expand," she said. "My last smoker cost $22,000, used."

But with the help of the ag department grant and a plan to promote the health benefits of eating fish, there’s no end in sight for Montana Mountain Smoke. And the Fish Queen hopes to keep on smokin’.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or [email protected].

Posted in:

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.