SECTION: SUBHEAD
ONE SKEPTIC OF CURRENT EFFORTS IS BILL PAYNE,
the 82-year-old owner of a heavy equipment repair shop and parts distributor. He opened his business in 1969 and has seen the ebb and flow of industries in the community. “For some reason, the local merchants have great hopes that tourism is going to take off, but I think that’s false reasoning,” he said. If Libby is going to thrive, he argues that the town needs major employers and high-paying jobs—something Libby hasn’t been able to offer for decades. Even though his business is one of the only heavy equipment repair shops in the area, he’s not sure Payne Machinery can hang on much longer. At its peak, he employed 22 people and pulled in $2.25 million in annual gross sales. Now, there are just seven employees and the business makes about $1 million yearly. Payne has only managed to keep things going by getting creative: reaching out to customers beyond Lincoln County and dropping fire and liability insurance. Payne said he’s not sure what he will do with his business. He tried selling it in 2007, but no one expressed interest. It’s a niche business in a dying market. When it comes to getting more decent-paying blue-collar jobs, it seems Libby keeps drawing bad hands. A welding company came to town in 2009, employing 70 people, only to shutter its doors a few years later. Just last year, the port authority finished a project that connected the business park to the main BNSF Railway line, a crucial step toward attracting new businesses. The problem: the SK Fingerjoint Mill was the only company ready to use it, and it burned down a few days before the city was scheduled to celebrate the spur completion.
Bill Payne doesn’t believe the scenery economy will be Libby’s savior.
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