Montana governor to Washington companies: We want your business

By Carleen Johnson
The Center Square

The Governor of Montana tells The Center Square he hopes to lure more out of state business expansion into his state, following this week’s announcement that Sedro-Woolley based Janicki Industries chose Great Falls as the site of its next manufacturing campus.

“We want entrepreneurs, they’re like golden geese,” said Montana Governor Greg Gianforte in a Thursday interview with The Center Square.

“Montana’s open for business. We’ve been deregulating. We’ve eliminated or streamlined 35% of all the regulations in the state. We’ve had multiple tax reductions. We think people should keep the fruits of their labor.”

As reported by TCS, Janicki’s $800 million investment in Montana will add 2 million square feet of production space over the next decade, creating 1,000 new jobs within the first five years, with total employment exceeding 2,000 jobs once campus construction is complete.

Janicki, a privately owned engineering and manufacturing company that designs and builds composite and metallic tooling, parts, prototypes and assembled structures for aerospace, defense, space and more, currently has over 1 million square feet of facilities across Washington and Utah and employs more than 2,000 people.

Janicki’s Communication and Education Outreach Manager Nick Lavacca told TCS many Olympia lawmakers seem to be out of touch with the realities of business.

“Unfortunately, if you’ve ever had to sit across the table from somebody that you really like, that you’ve worked with and who’s help build your company, and you have to let them go because you simply don’t have the revenue coming in. That’s difficult,” he said.

“I believe that people in Olympia that have owned businesses know that pain. And I don’t think that enough people there have had to sit across from somebody and experience that.”

The Center Square previously reached out to the office of Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson for comment on Janicki’s expansion to Montana, but received no response.

Gianforte told The Center Square Montana’s approach to business is vastly different than Washington and other high tax states.

“When we call on a company in one of these high regulatory, high tax states, our initial presentation’s very simple. Do you wanna move back to America?” said Gianforte.

“We want them to fly into the state. We want them to lay golden W-2 eggs because we want more good paying jobs in Montana,” he added.

Supporters of the recently passed income tax and other business tax hikes have argued businesses won’t leave the state due to Washington’s strong foundation in tech, innovation, and quality of life.

Gianforte says Montana has the same quality of life to offer, and a pro-business climate.

“Montana’s an awesome place to live and raise a family, with low crime, and lots of open space for hiking, camping, hunting, fishing,” he said.

“The second thing is we have a work ethic that won’t quit. Many Montanans have grown up on a farm or a ranch,” he added.

“And I always say, if it’s harvest time and the tractor’s broke, you don’t call a consultant, you don’t form a committee, you just fix the tractor.”

The Republican governor, who is serving his second term and currently chairs the Republican Governor’s Association, told The Center Square he is thrilled about Janicki’s decision to expand in his state but noted they are “not the first business expanding in Montana.”

“Boeing makes the landing gear for most of their big jets in Helena, Montana. They have over 250,000 square feet in their facility,” he noted.

“And the Department of War just opened up an innovation hub in Bozeman. It’s one of only six in the entire country. So, there’s innovative things going on in Montana.”

What does he see as the biggest difference in his approach to business versus blue states like Washington?

“Well, I would say when I speak with business owners and they ask me what’s the role of government, I say, ‘I’m here to stay out of your way.’ I think most entrepreneurs just want to be left alone,” he said.

“When you take from Peter to pay Paul, it never works out.”