Commissioners praise Janicki Industries; staff outline workforce ramp-up and community outreach

Commissioners used the May 28 special meeting to hear a detailed update on Janicki Industries’ planned operations and recruitment in Great Falls, and to confirm next steps for public information and workforce outreach.

Timo Smith Briggs, commissioner, summarized a recent tour of Janicki’s headquarters and facilities and praised the company’s attention to safety, quality and employee development. "They run their tolerances are so low, so small on all the machining they do and all of the ... composite work that they do," Briggs said, describing the facility as "very safety conscious" and noting the company’s extensive nondestructive testing and quality-control practices.

Project lead Jolene described three core points for the project: Janicki’s core values, the company moving to a larger city and the planned ramp-up. Jolene said the project team is creating a central landing page so the county can point residents to a single, routinely updated source of information and a place for people to ask questions. She told the commission the ramp-up "is gonna be over a 10 period," and that the first phase would bring a few hundred employees with many hires expected to come from the existing local labor pool.

Commissioners and staff cautioned about long lead times and specialized equipment needs for aerospace production. One speaker noted Janicki will use five-axis milling machines and autoclaves for composite curing and that "because of our altitude" they cannot use standard ovens for that work, adding to the facility planning requirements. Commissioners said the project team will coordinate with local K–12 schools, colleges and training programs to build pathways into the company’s jobs.

Briggs requested that Jolene complete the outreach process and the commission thanked staff for organizing the visit. Officials said a landing page should be available early next week and that a groundbreaking is planned for July 10, with further coordination to follow on workforce and housing needs.

What happens next: staff will publish the Janicki landing page, continue workforce coordination with Great Falls College MSU and K–12 partners, and move toward the July 10 groundbreaking and subsequent facility work.