Staff writer
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| JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Richard Williams, lead manufacturer at Berg Integrated Systems, began his employment with the company pulling weeds before working his way up to his current position in under a year. |
Fuel bladders for Army to start production in Plummer in Jan. 2008
PLUMMER -- The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is close to signing a lucrative military contract to manufacture giant fuel storage units for the U.S. Army, sources said Thursday.
Darren Stuck, general manager of Berg Integrated Systems, said the five-year contract is valued between $300 million and $500 million.
The tribe, which owns the majority interest in Berg Integrated Systems, hopes to finalize the deal with the U.S. Department of Defense by the end of August.
"It means new jobs and new money for North Idaho, not just recycled money," Coeur d'Alene Tribe Chairman Chief Allan said Thursday. "It's very cool."
Berg Integrated Systems currently is retrofitting its manufacturing plant in Plummer and is planning to start building fuel bladders in January 2008. The collapsible bladders can hold up to 210,000 gallons of diesel fuel or aircraft fuel and be deployed around the world.
"I am hoping this succeeds," said Richard Williams, a manufacturing line supervisor. "We want to have other businesses besides the casino. The casino is great -- only this is going to make the casino look small."
Williams is one of two tribal members working at the plant and there should be plenty of new job opportunities for the 2,000-member tribe. The military contract is expected to initially create between 50 and 70 new jobs at Berg's manufacturing plant, with many more jobs likely in the near future. The starting wage is expected to be $15 an hour, which could have an impact on other manufacturing wages in North Idaho.
"It's going to raise the whole water level in the pool," Stuck said. "Wages should go up."
Steve Griffitts, president of Jobs Plus, said the large government contract will have a ripple effect throughout the region.
"This is a huge injection for our economy," Griffitts said Thursday. "It will create greater job opportunities in our region. This will benefit the tribe for generations to come."
Berg is planning to expand its 50,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the 72- by 72-foot bladders and to increase production of its other products.
Berg also makes the integrated Expandable Shelter Platform, a product on the verge of more big contracts for the tribe. Revenues could reach $50 million on that product and add more jobs, tribal sources said.
The steel structure is called a remote site or a 3-in-1 because walls on both sides of a core shipping container expand to provide three times the space inside the structure. The patented structures can be employed in remote sites and can also be integrated with various features or functions to suit target markets such as the military, humanitarian aid and disaster relief work or organizations conducting exploration and field studies.
"We're very close to a deal that would potentially put 500 (of the shelters) in Africa for AIDS relief," Stuck said. "The contract is substantial. On the front end it would be between $5 million and $10 million. It could mature into the $40 million and $50 million range."
The units are powered by a diesel-driven generator and have air conditioning. It's wired to be used for a number of applications, including executive offices, medical facilities and security operations. It can be customized for a variety of uses, including a mobile laboratory or a water treatment unit.
Stuck said Berg Integrated Systems is partnering with North Idaho College to train its employees for the new manufacturing operations.
"We're going to train them right here at our plant," Stuck said. "We'll have operations going at night and weekends. We're going to pay them to get trained. We want to hit the ground running."
Sherry Wallis, director of customized training at NIC's Workforce Training Center in Post Falls, said the plan is to deliver specialized training, from welding to mathematics.
"As they roll out production in different phases there could be advanced training," Wallis said. "The great thing is we can deliver whatever they need."
Wallis said the center has provided customized training to other manufacturers in the region, such as Flexcel and Ground Force.
