Local industry leaders, city officials and community members celebrated the expansion of SME Industries at a luncheon at Chubbuck City Hall on April 16.

The new SME Steel facility, located at 1463 Fortress St. at the Pocatello Regional Airport, will provide approximately 100 new jobs for Southeast Idaho residents.

SME Steel has maintained a presence in the Chubbuck-Pocatello area since the 1990s as a steel fabrication and erection company, serving commercial, industrial, sports facility, governmental and other sectors.

The company will expand from its existing location at 3770 Pole Line Road to the site of the former metal fabricator Petersen Inc.

“SME is really in a great opportunity, because we’re growing, and there’s a lot of work out there that we are a part of,” said James Hutchison, director of marketing at SME. “We’re winning and we need to find a way to get it done. That really is what’s driving us down that path — looking into how we want to expand. I’ve said it before, Pocatello has the workforce that we are looking for, has skilled welders, craftsmen and hard workers. We’re trying to find the right people to put in our shops that can help us deliver a quality product to our new customers. It really fits with us to grow and expand in Pocatello.”

Portneuf Valley Development Corp., which hosted the luncheon, was instrumental in building a relationship with SME Industries and encouraging the company to remain and grow in the area through a tax reimbursement incentive.

“We have a really close relationship,” said MiaCate Kennedy I, CEO of Portneuf Valley Development Corp. “We worked on the incentive and here they are. They’re very close to my heart. I just wanted them to feel welcome and told them I would introduce them to the business leaders, because I think that is helpful when you’re first starting up.”

Building new relationships with local leaders was a primary focus of the event. With large semiconductor manufacturers like Micron Technology expanding in the region, Kennedy and others are hopeful SME Industries will continue to grow and create further opportunities for Southeast Idaho businesses and residents.

“We have seen a huge rise in the tech space, whether it’s data centers or in microchips, and that’s been a huge advantage for us,” Hutchison said. “It has provided a lot of work that we’ve been able to secure and deliver on and continue to want to grow in. That’s one of the bigger industries that we see ahead of us.”

New growth also brings new opportunity. Every airport expansion, sports stadium and large-scale construction project represents a significant volume of work for the manufacturer.

“When those come, they come in big spurts, and we need to find ways to fill that and also maintain consistency, to help us grow, but also keep our workforce happy,” Hutchison said. “So it’s really finding a balance between the industries that we’re serving and maintaining so we can continue to grow in a smart way.”

Hutchison said SME Steel is working to deepen its ties to Pocatello and Chubbuck. While nothing has been finalized, conversations have already begun about potential internships, career pathways and jobs for the region’s emerging workforce.

“We want to have a larger presence here and be a part of the community,” Hutchison said. “We want to be a locally recognized company here. Part of that is — what can we do to educate a future workforce? How can we more ingrain ourselves in the trade schools? How can we be a bigger part of the community, be a better presence inside of the Chamber of Commerce? This has been a great event to help us meet some people, to grow in that aspect.”

For Kennedy, maintaining a growth-focused partnership with companies like SME is what the work is all about.

“These are amazing, good paying, fully benefited jobs that help the community,” Kennedy said. “This is a really good opportunity for the community to get jobs. We always hear there’s nothing coming, but there’s lots happening. This is just one example and the community should really champion these guys, because they’re a great company.”

With 100 jobs on the way and deeper community ties in the works, SME Steel’s expansion into Chubbuck signals more than just a new building — it marks a deliberate bet on Southeast Idaho’s workforce and future.