Partnership to provide much needed jobs to reservation community
Released: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 8:39 am, Tue Oct 18, 2011.
PLUMMER – The Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Ground Force Manufacturing LLC recently inked a deal to lease the Tribe’s 55,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to Ground Force for the next five years, with two renewable terms of five years each.
The facility is on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, and was formerly utilized by Echelon LLC, an SBA 8(a) and HubZone certified tribal enterprise, to produce large fuel bladders under a contract with the U.S. Army.
“The Tribe and Echelon felt the best use of all that manufacturing square footage was to find a thriving business from our region that needed space to grow and could provide jobs to our community,” said Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council Chairman Chief Allan.
With major cuts to U.S. military spending and the drawdown in Iraq, the U.S. Army has shifted its spending priorities away from the large fuel bladders once produced by Echelon LLC at the Plummer facility, according to a press release.
Echelon LLC will continue to focus on its emerging divisions in construction management and environmental services.
Ron Nilson, president and CEO of Ground Force Manufacturing, said the company continues to thrive, thanks to its commitment to the global marketplace, selling mining equipment and providing service to customers in more than 40 countries.
“The partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Echelon through the lease of the Plummer facility will provide much needed jobs to the reservation community and help pave the way for even more international opportunities and pursuits for Ground Force,” he said in a press release.
It is estimated that Ground Force will hire more than 50 employees for the Plummer facility work in the next year.