North Valley Machine, an East Grand Forks aerospace contractor, is planning a big move to a new plant in Grand Forks with the space it needs to expand.
Frank Walski, one of the owners, said the firm will have 51,000 square feet, more than twice as much space as it has now, and some additional equipment. It'll employ 68 fulltime workers, 10 more than it does now, he said.
He and Nicole Walski, the other owner, are asking the Grand Forks Growth Fund for $162,000 in loans to help buy down interest from a $2.5 million bank loan. The Bank of North Dakota earlier granted the firm $300,000.
The committee overseeing the fund on Tuesday recommended the city's Jobs Development Authority to approve the loan when it meets next Monday. The fund's goal is to encourage more high-paying jobs, especially in manufacturing or value-added agriculture.
North Valley Machine uses computer-controlled machining to manufacture components for prototypes being developed by firms such as Boeing, Polaris, Arctic Cat and Ideal Aerosmith.
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The firm got its start in 1992 as a subcontractor located inside of Ideal Aerosmith's plant in the East Grand Forks Industrial Park, according to Frank Walski. But it's outgrown the space and there's no room for expansion.
"Our company needs this building," he said. "We need the expansion."
The firm has benefitted greatly from contracts in the commercial aerospace field, he said.
The new plant would be located at 1726 U.S. Highway 2, which had been home to Pribbs Steel and Manufacturing.
According to city documents, North Valley Machine now pays employees an average of $19 an hour. The 10 fulltime and 10 part-time jobs it expects to create would pay an average of $14 an hour, most of them painters, laser programmers and operators, assemblers and welders.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send email to ttran@gfherald.com .
