Stampede Packing Co. won't be coming to Columbia Falls

Stampede Packing Co., the meat packing company known for the popular Red Neck brand of specialty meats and sausages, will not be moving to Columbia Falls, the company confirmed Monday.

Instead, the company will look to expand its operations in Kalispell. The company’s recently applied to the city of Kalispell for annexation of its Airport Road facilities, namely for access to city sewer and water, noted owner T.S. Laurens.

The company was seriously considering moving to the industrial park north of Railroad Street last year. The company was awarded a $27,000 Big Sky Trust grant to design a new facility and Columbia Falls was its preferred location.

But Laurens said the company isn’t big enough to be an anchor tenant at the Columbia Falls site and once SmartLam decided not to expand there, Stampede couldn’t either.

“We’re not big enough to be an anchor for that park,” Laurens said.

Instead, the company will look to expand in Kalispell in the future. It will start with a new refrigeration and freezer building, so it can increase storage, Laurens said. A new facility will come later, he noted.

He said he was disappointed that a move to Columbia Falls didn’t work out.

“We looked forward to going up there, frankly,” he said.

The company employs about 30 people. Laurens said it has invested in high tech machinery that does away with some of the mundane tasks in the meat packing industry. As such, they look to train and retain employees who can make a living wage in the valley, he said.

The company is now distributing its products in seven states.

“We’d like to become a regional player,” he said.