BUTTE – A Montana-based building materials distribution company has operated in the Treasure State for 70 years and continues its legacy at a new warehouse just south of Butte.
“I was actually born in Butte; I was raised in Whitehall. All of our employees work in the state of Montana, so, yeah, we are a Montana-based company through and through from Laurel to Missoula, all on I-90,” Empire Building Materials General Manager Jacob Housman said.
One reason Empire Building Materials wanted to locate in the Montana Connections Industrial Park is its access to both Interstate 90 and 15. The company ships building materials to customers in six states. Rail services moving through the industrial park also make the company’s job easier.
“We have the rail yards so we can bring in materials. There are four truckloads on a railcar, so that allows us to bring a lot of volume in,” Housman said.
Butte-Silver Bow hosted a ribbon-cutting for the Butte facility Wednesday that has been in operation for more than a year. The warehouse is located on a 44-acre property and has 100,000 square feet of warehouse space and 22 employees.
"Their success here reinforces the message that Butte is a place where businesses can thrive, expand, and innovate,” Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher said.
Empire recently moved its Bozeman yard to its headquarters in Belgrade and also has a location in Missoula. The Butte operation ships about 1.8 million pounds of building material a week during the summer.
"I mean, it’s busy. We’re all going 100 miles an hour, and it’s great, but also it’s great, it’s exactly what we’re here for, and it’s exactly what we want,” Housman said.
