Sidney Businesses Boom in 2012

Sidney is fortunate to have had many business start-ups and improvements in 2012 and all are very important to the economic vitality of the region. We have chosen the businesses in this section of our Top 10 as both new or existing businesses which have made an impact in Sidney.

High Caliber Sports and Main Appliance

High Caliber Sports and Main Appliance opened the doors at 214 S. Central Ave., Sidney late in May. High Caliber Sports stocks an extensive array of firearms, plus all the ammo and accessories. Hunting and fishing supplies, paintball supplies and self defense products are also available.

Clint Hecker, who owns the business with his wife Sherry, is very pleased with how business has been. “It’s been good, really good,” he said. “We’ve had great support from the community.” Heckers have been continually adding to the inventory with more brand names, more distributors and broader product lines. They’ve added a lot more guns, ice fishing equipment, archery equipment, more predator calls, more of everything in order to provide their customers with the best possible shopping experience. They also expanded their hours almost right away to 9 a.m. to 6p.m. due to customer request.

The GE appliances are also selling well and plans still call for local warranty repair service to be offered.

Call High Caliber Sports at 433-1800 or stop by 214 S. Central Ave., Sidney.

The Trading Post

The Trading Post received new owners and a new downtown location in February. Jerry and Joanna Hughes have been expanding and improving the consignments and pawn ever since. Joanna is “the gun lady” with an extensive array of firearms available. Hughes have added lots of new consignment items, a wide variety of Made In Montana items and some fine art. “The business has gone as well as could be expected,” Jerry said. They are also working on expanding the dry goods section which currently offers coffee, teas, and noodles. Jerry plans to start offering bicycle repair in the spring.

“We’re always looking to broaden the inventory and better serve the community,” Jerry said.

Stop by The Trading Post at 111 E. Main, Sidney or call them at 406-433-7676.

Pacific Steel and Recycling

Pacific Steel and Recycling opened their new state of the art facility July 11. In addition to spacious, efficient office space, the facility features a 80’ X 100’ steel warehouse where steel can be cut to length, bent or plasma cut. The building has a 10 ton overhead crane and two bays where semis can load side by side.

There is also a drive through recyclables warehouse and a 72’ in-ground truck scale. The entire location is paved, both to prevent mud and for customer convenience. Pacific Steel is an environmentally conscious company. Paving the yard and putting in a retention pond ensures that no contaminants go into the soil or leave the site.

Manager Will Colson is pleased with the increase in business since the move. “Business has increased dramatically,” he said. “We’ve had to hire more workers. We’ve found some really good people to add to our outstanding group of employees.”

Visit Pacific Steel and Recycling at 35023 County Rd. 123 or call 406-433-1301.

Cross Petroleum

Cross Petroleum has been in Sidney for 25 years, and this year built a 7700 sq. ft. warehouse/office facility at its location on 901 3rd St. SE. The expansion has made working conditions much better for the staff. “It’s really good,” manager Larry Garman explained. “It makes our life easier.”

Spacious new offices provide a comfortable, welcoming environment. Green technology was used wherever possible. The warehouse, which claims most of the new space, is a modified pole barn with an18” thick cement base all the way around for containment purposes. The overhead doors are tight and can be blocked as well. There is also a thick firewall in the back because of the bulk fuel tanks outside. The extra space also allowed for bulk oil capability with 4 new 7000 gallon tanks. Tanks can be filled there and hauled to the customer. Loading and unloading is also much easier with the new facility.

There are still some little things to be done according to Garman. On the agenda for next spring is the removal of the old office building and part of the old warehouse. Part of that space will become the new loading dock.

For all your bulk oil needs, call Cross Petroleum at 406-433-4376.

Checkers

Although Checkers has been in business for almost nine years this coming February, the business made our top10 list because of their major expansion into the former PATH building on N. Central Ave., Sidney. Until then, Janette McCollum had run Checkers out of her home. With over 40 employees in 23 locations in Montana and North Dakota serving over 900 accounts, it was time for more space. Checkers provides drug and alcohol testing, Hazmat Fingerprinting through the (TSA) Transportation Security Administration, and DOT and employment physicals, and sports physicals with licensed medical physicians. The new location provides plenty of space to accommodate clients, individually or in large groups.

The front part of this specialized office, which employs five individuals including the two medical professionals, was from the first renovation completed in May of this year. This has specific areas reserved for drug and alcohol testing, fingerprinting and medical exams. The second renovation, which was completed this last October, allowed the remaining staff of six from the McCollum home, a place to move into. These individuals are the inner workings of the company, which include dispatch, data entry, office crew and management. This new area features a storage area, computer area, another restroom, two offices for management, a data entry area for three full time data entry specialists, a break room which also serves as another waiting room for physicals, and their new Training Center. The Training Center is used for training new collectors, hosting seminars where companies can receive their certifications for DER and the required Reasonable Suspicion training, and for conducting company lock downs for drug and alcohol testing. It also serves as a work area for the company.

McCollum finally has an office outside her home and she is delighted with that. "This has been a very good thing for us," she said. "The location is awesome. Semi-drivers can pull right up in front of the building or into the parking lot. They come in, get tested right away and off they go. There's no waiting here." "We're very blessed. " She added, "this is working out great!"

To discover what Checkers can do for your business, call them at 406-488-5900 or visit them at 223 N. Central Ave., Sidney.

Margies Car Wash

The number of sparkling clean vehicles increased dramatically after Margies Car Wash opened Thanksgiving weekend. Featuring two touchless bays, 2 oversized hand wash bays, six vacuums with three carpet cleaners, the 24/7 car wash has been busy ever since it opened according to co-owner Roger Byer. He and brother Don would like to thank the public for being patient as they have been getting everything up to speed. "It's been good," Roger said. "Sales of fleet and gift cards are also going well. There have been no issues with equipment and the public has been real supportive."

He emphasized that the facility is a Car Wash, not a motor, or horse trailer, or oil covered equipment, or contaminated materials wash. "We are trying very hard to keep the wash clean. We just can't deal with oily messes or contaminants," Roger stated. They have installed a high tech 24 hour surveillance system to record anyone misusing the area. Anyone contaminating or damaging the area will be prosecuted. "We're not trying to be difficult," Roger said. "It's the law."

Now that the parking lot is sealed, ice melt will be used to control freezing ice issues. It will have to get extremely cold before the car wash has to shut down. With hand dryers in the hand wash bays, and overhead dryers in the automatic bays, most of the water is dried off. Drivers still need to be aware of the potential for frozen doors.

Drivers are reminded to remove hitches on vehicles before entering the automatic bays. The bays can accommodate 4 door, long box duallys, but the sensors cannot see the hitches, causing problems in the wash. Even short box pickups need to have hitches removed, due to the same issues. Roger advises drivers who have entered the bay and forgotten to remove the hitch, to drive forward a few inches. Sometimes that will alleviate the problem.

The touch free automatic wash bays and hand wash bays accept credit cards, Margie Cards and cash. Because of the cold and damp conditions, users may have to swipe their credit card several times before it will work. When purchasing gift or fleet cards at the wash, use a credit card or exact change. The machine does not give change. If you have any problems, please contact Tim at the car wash or call B&B.

"We realized after getting our system set, that we named it wrong," Roger said. "We're cleaning vehicles, not just washing them. We know now that once a vehicle is clean, either by hand washing or running it through the automatic wash a few times, we can maintain clean, particularly with the $12 wash. It cleans and protects the best, and helps the vehicle stay clean longer."

With the success of Margies Car Wash, B&B is interested in public comments concerning the possibility of a second location west of the Holiday Inn, between Reese & Ray's IGA and the new Reynolds store. They would like feedback on possible usage to determine if the project would be a good fit for Sidney. Call them at 406-433-4401 or stop by 108 2nd St. NE, Sidney.

By the way, Margie is the wonderful mother of Roger and Don.

KB’s Bubbles Coin Laundry & Wash N Fold Service Opened for Business in Sidney in May

The opening of KB’s Bubbles at 115 9th Ave NE along the truck route provided a place where people can wash their clothes in coin operated machines or take advantage of the wash and fold service that enables laundry goers to drop off their clothing and pick it up the next day.

They also provide mending services and have an ATM machine for their customers.

Kelly Bahls, a lifelong Sidney resident, hopes his newest business venture will create a retirement security net for himself while helping fill a growing need in the community. The facility has 32 new stainless steel washing machines. The building is also equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities for those who want to stay plugged in. Several washing machines are strictly designated as greaser machines for oil splattered clothing.

With coin operated services available 24 hours a day, patrons with varying work schedules can use the laundry facilities at their convenience.

Bahl’s currently owns his Kelly’s T n T, a drywall company and has been in business for nearly 10 years.

KB’s Bubbles is named after his daughter, Kaylee Bahls.

Bahls started searching for a piece of property a year ago that could potentially house his laundry facility. He chose the location along the truck route because potential customers pass by continually and it would be convenient and accessible to truckers driving large semi trucks. Once he acquired the land he used his carpentry skills to build the business literally from the ground up and used local contractors for the heating and plumbing. He broke ground in August of 2011 and poured concrete in September admitting that it could have been completed faster if he had not traveled to Alaska for his annual moose hunting trip.

For design inspiration, he traveled to places like Billings, Mont., and Dickinson N.D to look at other established facilities. Once he came up with a layout for his own business he received some additional help and suggestions from Dexter, the company he purchased the washing machines through.

“One of the good things about building something yourself is that you can control costs better. This entire process has been an exciting adventure. It’s a big step for me and I’m nervous but everyone seems to really like it,” he said.

Locally, Bahls contracted with B & J Heating and Mike Potts of Sidney and Quality Concrete and Quinnell Electric, of Savage.

The laundry facility is open 24 hours a day and the next-day, wash and fold services are available 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.