$250K federal grant to help Columbia Falls company grow

COLUMBIA FALLS – Montana Senator Jon Tester has secured a large grant for a Columbia Falls business to allow them to grow and hire in the Flathead.

The $250,000 grant comes from the US Department of Agriculture and will be going to a company called SmartLAM that manufactures cross laminated timber.

SmartLAM is the very first manufacturer and distributor of this product in the U.S., and according to a release from Tester’s office, the money will allow the Columbia Falls company to grow into the largest of it’s kind in the world.

SmartLAM currently employs 30 people and plans to hire more with this grant. The company will have a booth set up at the Flathead Valley Job Fair on April 16 from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.