You’ll often hear us say about our Montana roots, “It’s impossible to think small in a place this big.” The phrase rings especially true when it comes to our sizeable new facility in Libby. Nomad has always embraced audacious goals… Now there’s room for manufacturing to expand in parallel.
With demand for Connected Mobile Operations Centers (CMOC’s) accelerating, and Nomad’s workforce nearly doubling in the last five years to keep pace, the need for additional production space was clear. In early 2023, the stars aligned over Northwest Montana and we found the ideal mix of people, place, and property in the town of Libby.
Logging, mining, and manufacturing have shaped the work ethic of this mountain town since the late 1800’s. The tight-knit community has experienced big wins and tough challenges, building an uncommon strength and resilience in the process. It’s the perfect setting for a renaissance of creative thinking, cutting-edge craftsmanship, and old fashioned, sleeves-rolled-up hard work.
“The community has been incredibly welcoming, and we believe our investment in infrastructure and local employees will be a win for everyone.”
Through the acquisition of a well-known (but long-vacant) Libby property, Nomad is positioning to meet skyrocketing CMOC demand into the future. “Lincoln County is a natural fit for us,” CEO Will Schmautz said. “The workforce in this area is highly skilled and driven. The community has been incredibly welcoming, and we believe our investment in infrastructure and local employees will be a win for everyone.”
Big aspirations need room to breathe. And, at over 100,000 square feet, the new Nomad manufacturing plant will grow with our customers’ needs. The massive structure, one of the largest in the state, must be seen to be believed. A large shipping container appears miniaturized against 50-foot walls. The building could house most of the balloons in an average Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, inflated.*
Childhood balloon dreams aside, the new Libby plant has ample real estate to support the burgeoning desire for van-based CMOC’s. The platform is becoming increasingly popular with customers looking for a degree of off-the-shelf modularity, combined with Nomad’s seamless IT and comms integration and NIST/STIG-compliant “Nomad Total Command” (NTC) systems automation. NTC-equipped CMOC vans are rolling off the line in Libby, with production capabilities and throughput growing daily.
The crew in Lincoln County will also take on manufacturing of Nomad’s military-spec containerized solutions, an effort spearheaded and engineered via our new Huntsville office. The versatile (and did we mention plentiful?) floor space in the Libby plant will enable incredible production flexibility, allowing entire lines to expand, contract, or move as needed. All of which translates into improved efficiency and quality for Nomad’s customers.
“Nobody else in the industry is providing the highly-specialized solutions that we are,” Schmautz said. “To stay in front, we need to grow. Lincoln County is a key part of that strategy.”
“We’re excited about the Libby expansion, and actively looking for talented individuals to join our team in all locations.”
Chief of People and Development, Clay Binford, expects to eventually hire up to 200 additional team members for the Libby facility. “We’re excited about the Libby expansion, and actively looking for talented individuals to join our team in all locations,” he said. “Folks should definitely check out our Careers page and get their applications in.”
Interested in working with Nomad? Join the team…
* Calculated at the per-year average of 25 balloons, each averaging 50-60 feet in length/height. Cheers to our “research partner,” Chat GPT.