Global Technologies Group, Inc. (GTGP)

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More on MSE's history:

http://mtstandard.com/special_reports/economic_outlook_2012/mse-hitting-restart-button/article_cd20859e-5524-11e1-b442-001871e3ce6c.html


Though it was founded more than 25 years ago, MSE Inc. suddenly has the feel of a startup.

The company has new management, a new corporate strategy and new customers. It is trying to find a way to once again become profitable and reconnect with some of the country’s biggest contractors.

“It’s like starting over,” said Northey Tretheway, MSE’s chief financial officer, who is leading the company since president and chief executive officer Jeff Ruffner resigned in December.

If he isn’t entirely starting from scratch, Tretheway is at least hitting the restart button.

“We’re going back to what we do well,” said Jim Kambich, president of the Montana Economic Revitalization and Development Institute (MERDI), the parent company of MSE.

Since 2008, MSE Technology Inc., an engineering company based in Butte since 1974, has struggled. Before the recession it employed more than 100 people, but that number has since been cut in half. Currently, 50 employees are working fulltime at the company with another dozen working part-time. In the last month MSE laid off about five employees and reduced hours for others, according to Tretheway.

For nearly 20 years MSE was funded solely by one large contract with the Department of Defense. The 1980s were a difficult decade for the Butte economy, and MSE employed a number of engineers and scientists who were put out of work by the closure of the mine and smelter. In the 1990s, the company expanded to include work for other federal agencies, but it remained heavily reliant on federal earmarks.

But those earmarks and their accompanying contracts became politically volatile and dried up during the depth of the recession. After treading water for awhile, Tretheway and Kambich realized the company needed a change of direction.

That process is not finished, but it is certainly under way.

“You have to reinvent yourself, transform yourself, you have to adapt,” Kambich said. “That’s what we’re doing.”

The company has expanded some of the profitable work with both private and government entities, including an analytical lab that tests soil and water samples and a geoprobe used in the field.

The company is also looking to find customers to use some of its expensive equipment, including a crusher that is located on its south Butte property. Kambich said they also want to strengthen ties with the local operations such as Montana Aerospace Development Association, Montana Resources and Montana Tech, among others.

Both men see challenges ahead for the organization, but they also see the ability to bounce back — just like Butte has done again and again.

“We’re pushing ahead to make sure we survive,” said Kambich. “Our goal is to come back and make a difference again in this community.”



Read more: http://mtstandard.com/special_reports/economic_outlook_2012/mse-hitting-restart-button/article_cd20859e-5524-11e1-b442-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz20DZqoOpk