After a year of limited sales and modifications that took longer than expected, LiV Golf Cars is hopeful 2015 will be the year the block grant-aided company lives up to the promise county leaders said they saw nearly two years ago. 

CEO Jon Hoster said the company has 15-20 model cars on five different golf courses located in California, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The hope is that the new and improved models will draw enough interest that premier courses will purchase a fleet.

The golf car market is surprisingly similar to the standard car market: there is a Big Three — E-Z-GO, Club Car and Yamaha — and smaller companies relying on disruptive technology to alter the market. Hoster believes his lithium battery-powered cars can revolutionize golf cars the same way lithium battery-powered work tools now fill every handyman’s work bucket. The golf cars assembled in Libby can last several years longer than their lead-acid battery-powered competitors, but the benefits do not stop there. The cars weigh less, therefore contributing to less compaction on courses, and require less maintenance. 

While the advantage may seem apparent, Hoster is experiencing the same trouble several other transportation innovators have faced — glacially paced change.

“It comes down to how fast the industry will accept us,” Hoster said.

Commissioners unanimous approved a $368,000 block grant for the company in May 2013. At the time, commissioners said the deal could bring 15 new jobs to Libby. The grant required at least 22 employees by September 2015, but then-Kootenai River Development Council Executive Director Paul Rumelhart said the company should soar past projections of 26 workers in the second year and 47 by the third year.

“(If anything), those numbers are pessimistic,” Rumelhart said in 2013. “They are on the low end.”

Despite Rumelhart’s grand projections, LiV Golf Cars has two employees in Libby today. The company has produced 34 cars with aluminum and steel framed designs and Hoster is confident fleet sales will be ordered by March 2015. Modifications to the cars’ turning radii, parking brakes, seat thickness and general design took longer than Hoster said he expected this year. He reengaged golf courses with his newly improved models in mid-September and said the response has been strong. 

As for the state’s requirement of 22 employees, Hoster said he hopes to hire 15-20 people in 2015. 

“Looking at 2015, it will be a telltale year for us,” Hoster said. “Hopefully we can get to that number of employees. If not, we will work with the state or the KRDC. The support from the commissioners has been great. I look at Libby and think, why not here.”