A Midwestern company plans to build a manufacturing facility at the Pocatello Regional Airport where post-frame buildings will be constructed according to customers’ specifications and delivered elsewhere for assembly.

Morton Buildings, based in Morton, Illinois, anticipates initially hiring 25 workers for the Pocatello plant and gradually increasing staff as its business grows.

The company makes buildings filling a variety of agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial uses.

They’ve served customers in the West for more than a decade with construction centers in Idaho Falls and Boise, according to a press release.

Building kits specifically designed to meet a customer’s criteria are made at about a half dozen manufacturing plants throughout the country and shipped for assembly on site by crews at the regional construction centers. Other construction centers are located in Wyoming and Montana.

Thus far, the buildings assembled in Idaho and surrounding states have come from manufacturing plants in Kansas and Iowa. Company officials say the Pocatello plant will serve the growing western market.

“As a 100 percent employee-owned company, growth is an important component in increasing the retirement savings and broadening the career development opportunities for our employee owners,” said John Russell, CEO and chairman of the board for Morton. “Our recent growth in the Northwest has positioned us to make this significant investment in Pocatello, and we are grateful for the reception we have received by the local community.”

Sean Cain, president of Morton, said the airport location is ideal for Morton’s needs.

According to the press release, post-frame construction provides “superior strength and durability by transferring load through building columns, allowing structures to perform exceptionally well even in extreme weather.”

The buildings, which have wood frames and steel exterior walls, can span 150 feet without load-bearing interior walls.

Morton will present its plans to the City Council on Aug. 5.

Russell gave credit to Bannock Development Corp., which helped the company with research and suggested the airport’s business park for the plant location, and said the company is confident Pocatello will provide “a terrific base from which to serve the Northwest.”

MiaCate Kennedy I, Bannock Development’s executive director, said the announcement was made possible with the help of a team of community partners, including local elected officials, the Idaho Department of Labor and Power County’s Great Rift Business Development Organization.

“They’re one of those really quality companies that I really fought to make sure they came,” Kennedy said.

The airport is owned by the city of Pocatello, which would get revenue from leasing land to Morton, and is located in Power County, which would benefit from tax revenue.

Kristen Jensen, director of the Great Rift Business Development Organization, added in an emailed statement, {span id=”docs-internal-guid-60bba7dd-7fff-28b7-1fed-36f9cfe95470”}{span}“I am excited that Morton Buildings has selected the Pocatello area to locate their new manufacturing facility. I am pleased that I could work with MiaCate Kennedy from Bannock Development and company representatives from Morton Buildings to make this project a reality. Morton Buildings will be a great asset to our area as they will employ skilled workers and they are a well established business.”{/span}{/span}