With news of layoffs, production cutbacks and shutdowns emerging almost daily, it’s easy to see the signs of a tightening economy among Montana’s manufacturing companies.

But if there were a sign planted in the snow outside Summit Aeronautics Group, it would most likely read “Now Hiring.” Summit is hiring machinists, programmers and other workers as it gears up to meet current and anticipated orders for military and commercial aviation components.

“The aerospace industry is doing great and we don’t anticipate any downturns,” said Doug Recker, the company’s human resources manager.

Located in a sprawling building at the Helena airport, Summit was founded in 1997 by Tom Hoffman, its chief executive officer. The company has grown from four employees and one key customer to one with 120 employees. It has contracts with some of the biggest names in the aerospace industry, including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and a variety of regional jet manufacturers.

“We’ve seen rapid growth in the last 11 years,” said Kevin Van Dyke, Summit’s director of quality, who notes the company is working on another expansion, one that will likely include more giant milling machines, a building addition and more workers.

Summit won a contract in 2002 to make titanium engine-bay doors for the F-22 Raptor, a military stealth fighter, and is currently finding work on military and commercial projects. The company is making a series of complex parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being developed by Lockheed Martin and is also supplying parts for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is in the final stages of production. Recent news about additional delays with the Boeing 787 will actually help Summit complete other projects and be fully prepared for new work, officials said.

“We have invested quite a lot into the future of both those programs,” said Van Dyke.

While Summit doesn’t publicly share financial information, officials proudly note the relatively young company’s split of military and commercial aircraft work as a sign of healthy diversification. Military projects account for about 60 percent of Summit’s output, and commercial aviation, while market driven, helps insulate Summit from the inevitable swings in defense spending. “We have worked hard to get to that 60/40 split and get that diversified revenue base,” said Kevin Casey, Summit’s financial controller.

Hoffman worked in the aerospace for a number of years before deciding to strike out on his own. His wife’s hometown became his headquarters. In the early days, Summit was a tooling company. Since then, the company has jumped into making precision aircraft parts. The products range from the engine-bay doors for the F-22 to plenty of pieces Summit officials hesitate to describe for competitive reasons. Hoffman also declined to be interviewed.

Rather than produce basic parts that could be cranked out by many a machine shop, Summit has invested in a series of large computer-controlled “five-axis” milling machines. The machines, in various sizes and configurations, allow Summit workers to craft parts with odd angles and subtle curves to exacting detail out of titanium, aluminum and stainless steel.

“The easy part — there are a lot more people that want to do that,” Van Dyke said. “It’s the complex part that we excel at. We are attracted to the jobs that nobody else wants to do.”

Summit has carved a solid reputation in the realm of aerospace manufacturing. “Their technology is high-end,” said Steve Holland, executive director of the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center in Bozeman. “The engineering and machine work that they do is top-notch. They are among an elite few who do that detailed type of work, not only in Montana, but in the entire country.”

While there are other Montana companies doing aerospace contracting work — Holland mentions CM Manufacturing in Missoula, which makes landing-gear parts and the electrical harnesses made by Cable Technology Inc. in Great Falls — Summit is the largest.

Finding high-quality employees is a crucial element in the company’s growth strategy, and skilled aerospace workers are less than plentiful in Big Sky Country. The company has hired engineering students from Montana universities. It has worked with the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology to develop a training program for machinists. A significant number of those who have completed the two-year program have landed with Summit.

“They’ve made fantastic employees and they have a great job future,” Van Dyke said.

The employee development strategy also extends to the high-school level, where Summit has offered apprenticeship training to a number of students and maintains a presence at career fairs hoping to expose students to jobs in manufacturing.

While Summit has at times actively recruited workers from beyond Montana’s borders, it is focusing its current efforts closer to home. The company plans to have another 20 employees hired and trained by early summer.

“We are looking for experienced people but if we can’t find them, we are willing to train our own,” said Recker. “These are trainable positions.”

Newspaper ads seeking applicants have brought plenty of response from good candidates in recent weeks, a likely sign that the pool of job seekers is growing as the economy cools.

“We are starting to feel the benefit of the unemployment crunch,” Recker said.

Butch Larcombe is the editor of Montana Magazine. He can be reached at 444-5120.