LIBBY, Mont. - Stinger Welding will get $17 million to complete its new fabrication plant in Libby, the Montana Community Development Corporation said.

The announcement of the cash infusion and the 100-plus jobs it will create was welcome news for the Libby community, which has been plagued by double-digit unemployment in recent months and still struggles with the aftermath of asbestos disease from the former W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine.

Construction of the new facility began in 2009, but had been delayed by a lack of financing. Credit for the new deal was given to a federal financing program written by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. and to Baucus' efforts to profile Montana's business opportunities to national investors, including Goldman Sachs Inc., at his Economic Development Summit last year.

Baucus, the Montana Community Development Corporation, Stinger Welding and the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs each played a critical role to complete the financing of the plant, Lynn Dankowski, marketing manager for the development corporation, said in a press release.

"It's very exciting to see them building and going forward," Lincoln County Commissioner Tony Berget said. "We've been able to buy a few bridges from them, and get them at very competitive pricing."

Berget said the Libby area has seen an exodus of unemployed workers heading to the oil fields in North Dakota for jobs. Stinger's ramp up in hiring will create an opportunity to stabilize the local economy, he added.

The new 105,000-square-foot Libby plant will provide steel for bridge infrastructure projects in the Northwest. Stinger's current operations in Libby already have produced steel products for use in projects in Spokane, Portland and Seattle.

The fabrication plant should be completed in August and production should begin in the fall with a ramp-up to full capacity varying with market demand. Major equipment will be delivered and put into operation over the next two months.

Stinger will hire workers at various skill levels, with wages ranging from a $13.55 per hour minimum to a $16 average hourly wage. Salaried positions also are available. Flathead Valley Community College added welding classes at its Kalispell and Libby locations and graduated 20 welding students in April to meet Stinger's workforce requirements.

Hiring has begun; applications are being taken through the Kootenai Job Service in Libby.

Stinger Welding currently employs 43 people in Libby. The company also operates a large steel fabrication plant in Coolidge, Ariz., where it is the premier steel bridge component fabricator for the Southwest. Stinger chose Libby over several other plant locations because of its proximity to potential markets in the Northwest; direct access to rail lines in Libby's Kootenai Industrial District; lower comparable labor costs for skilled labor; and an economic incentive package offered by Lincoln County, Libby, and the state of Montana.