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Anderson Steel will use low-interest loan to expand

One of Great Falls’ primary sector employers is poised to grow, thanks in part to a low-interest loan from the Great Falls Development
Authority.

By BETH BRITTON
Tribune Business Editor

A $1.4 million expansion — including $800,000 in modern equipment and a $600,000 building addition — is in the works at Anderson Steel.

Company president Susan Humble said the Great Falls Development Authority, in conjunction with First Interstate Bank, is making it
possible for her company to grow.

The GFDA is providing a short-term, $800,000 loan to the company. The money will be used to purchase automated equipment.

"It’ll save me money, and I can then turn around and buy more equipment with what I save," Humble said.

Humble said she is pleased that First Interstate Bank, which is taking on the building project and will eventually carry the entire loan, has
been so supportive of a growing business.

The 20,000-square-foot addition features radiant floor heat and much-needed space for the company’s fabricators, Humble said.

The new equipment includes machines used to cut large pieces of steel and fabricate a variety of products.

The equipment, which will be installed and in operation in time for the company to work on the Ronan High School project in July, will allow
the company to more successfully compete, Humble said.

Anderson Steel will be able to bid on larger projects, supply clients’ needs faster and more efficiently, retain high quality and produce more
tonnage, she said. Anderson Steel currently puts out between 5,000 and 9,000 tons annually.

"We just need to do what we do better and more efficiently," Humble said. "You reach a point where in order to do better we needed to buy
modern, automated equipment."

Founded in 1970 in Great Falls, Anderson Steel has also operated a site in Billings since 1972. A Butte site that opened in 1988 was
closed last year.

The company currently employs 45 in Great Falls and 42 in Billings. The expansion will allow Anderson Steel’s Great Falls operation to
hire additional employees for high-tech positions. The new equipment is computerized, and many employees will require additional
training, she said.

Humble said she was surprised to learn about the program to help existing businesses.

"In the past, little attention was paid to existing business," Humble said. "When John Kramer came to town, he came to visit and asked
about my expansion plans and need for short-term money. These are things he’s in town to do."

Kramer, the president of the Great Falls Development Authority, said Anderson Steel is a prime example of the kinds of existing
businesses that the development organization aims to assist.

"It’s a good base industry; their growth is outside the state of Montana," he said of Anderson Steel. "They’re a new wealth generator, and
that’s what intrigued us."

The competitive interest rates offered to companies vary, depending on the financial history of the company, said Great Falls Development
Deputy Director Cheryl MacArthur. She declined to name the interest rate for Anderson Steel.

Currently, there is $1.9 million in the organization’s revolving loan fund. MacArthur stressed that the use of the revolving loan fund monies is
limited to companies whose projects are tied to job expansion.

Ralph Cook, the president of First Interstate Bank in Great Falls and a member of the board of directors for the Great Falls Development
Authority, said the mechanism which is allowing Anderson Steel to obtain a lower interest rate loan is competition for his bank.

"Anderson Steel is such a bankable deal. They don’t need any special programs to obtain financing," Cook said. "In that regard, I see it as
competitive to our bank since the deal was already approved through here."

Both Kramer and Cook said the program is slated to change in the near future.

"I guess my feeling is that this kind of funding activity is competing with the banks, but John (Kramer) is redesigning the program to still
allow for low interest rates to be provided and for the banks to be involved with customers all the way from the beginning to the end of the
project," Cook said.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20020503/localnews/230991.html

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