Opening Luncheon & Keynote Address, Noon Thursday, Oct. 7
Co-hosts: MMEC & NorthWestern Energy

Jeff Metts will inspire you to seek opportunity in unexpected places when he presents “A Time To Be Bold.” Hear how this courageous company leader stepped off the edge for new opportunity, bringing the science, engineering, and entrepreneurial vision together to lift his company above the morass of foreign competition and created new jobs for a dwindling automotive industry.  See why America’s entrepreneurial spirit leads to great treasure and learn more about his relentless pursuit —a vision for meeting the needs of our country’s energy demands and in doing so reviving U.S. manufacturing strength in America’s heartland.

Metts is an innovative leader recognized for pioneering Michigan’s renewable energy frontier in 2007. His dedication earned him a Business Leadership Award by the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. He is a sought after speaker and member of Michigan Governor’s Green Energy Task Force. His family firm, Dowding Industries, is a Michigan-based manufacturer of progressive die stampings, metal fabrications and welded assemblies. Four years ago, the company began manufacturing parts for the wind turbine industry, and the wager on diversification doesn’t end there…


Networking Reception/Social in the Exhibitor Hall (plenty of food & cash bar), Thursday Evening, Oct 7
Dessert Talk: "China, What's Up with That?" with  Mark Shyne, MMEC, and Mike Groff, PDM Manufacturing
Feature Sponsors: Bresnan, SBDC & Montana Dept. of Commerce

Join Peers & Allies for a fun and informative evening in the Exhibitor Hall with plenty of food, cash bar & prizes. Learn more about what's up with China from Mark Shyne, MMEC, who recently returned from a Trade Mission in China hosted by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Groff, Plastics Design & Manufacturing (PDM) in Manhattan. Mike recently expanded his business expertise into manufacturing and has blended the best of both worlds to make parts cost effectively and quickly for clients in Montana and across the USA. 

Tim Robertson, CEO
Century Companies, Inc., Lewistown

Tim will share insights into the opportunities and challenges of being entrusted with the reigns of a successful 25-year-old Montana paving company built by its owner on a reputation of extremely high level customer service, unparalleled in the industry, and a core built on family-like relationships. Learn how a difficult marketplace has changed the game and how he empowers a leadership team committed to delivering urban-quality infrastructure construction services to rural job sites and municipalities.  Get a glimpse into creative employee incentives and a safety program that make Century an Employer of Choice today and what Century does to ensure that success begins and ends hands-on at the field level. 

Century Companies customers throughout the rural West, providing high quality commercial paving, highway paving, grading, underground utility installation, rural airports, concrete forming and pouring, gravel crushing and laying, and hot-mix asphalt materials production. It has a fleet of “rolling stock,” that goes where needed and encompasses more than 200 pieces of large construction equipment and portable hot asphalt plants.

Susan & Steve Moore, co-owners 
Cream of the West, Harlowton

Steve and Susan Moore will take you on a virtual “road trip” in Cream of the West’s Big Yellow Truck. Stops will include the plant inHarlowton where the company manufactures its line of whole-grain products that ship nationally and internationally; and the Two Dot ranches of the company’s principal owners, Steve and Susan Moore and Richard and Alicia Moe, to learn about the Sustainable Agriculture engine that powers the company’s mission. Along the way, Susan will point out the narrowly avoided potholes and describe the tune-ups required to drive a 100-year-old grain truck into a future of opportunity. This past year, the company came to a fork in the road…  and took it! You will hear how learning to negotiate the curves of adding over 50 new products without running out of gas, while responding to more stringent food safety regulations without a blowout, has made for an exciting trip. We hope you hop on for this one, but make sure you buckle up!

Bill Lundberg, President & Chief Operating Officer
Roscoe Steel & Culvert Co. , Billings

The steel game isn’t what it used be.  At a time when the construction industry as a whole has experienced a 62 percent market decline, Bill’s story will encourage you to be proactive with continuous improvement as you learn about challenges and solutions that enable Roscoe to move forward. Gain tips on leadership strategies that not only embrace change but also lead to a well-trained, resourceful, and empowered work force.

For nearly 60 years, Roscoe Steel & Culvert has been a leading fabricator of highway and railroad bridges and specialty structural steel for industrial and building construction.  The culvert division makes, sells and supports innovative products to assist its customers with environmentally conscious solutions to the soil and water management challenges of the 21st century.