GE Commercial Finance, a division of the multinational General Electric Co., confirmed Saturday that it intends to open an operations center in Billings within a year.

Though the company is still negotiating the center's exact location, it will initially hire between 150 and 200 workers, said Jeffrey Bornstein, vice president and CFO of GE Commercial Finance. Over time it could grow to employ even more people, he said.

The announcement came during a morning news conference in the offices of the Big Sky Economic Development Authority in downtown Billings. Besides Bornstein, other speakers included Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Billings Mayor Ron Tussing.

GE Commercial Finance has $260 billion in assets, Bornstein said. The new operations center in Billings will focus on tracking and evaluating those assets -- everything from business equipment to vehicles to revolving lines of credit -- in industries such as real estate, health care and financial services.

Billings was one of a handful of Montana cities GE considered for the operations center. Bornstein declined to name the other finalists.

He put together a team from GE that spent several months visiting and extensively evaluating Montana cities to decide where in Montana to locate.

All of the cities "did an absolutely outstanding job," said Bornstein, and the decision was a difficult one.

"At the end of the day, we added it up and Billings was the city that came out on top," he said.

Bornstein, who is based in Norwalk, Conn., cited the quality of the workforce in Billings, the quality of life in the area, the city's infrastructure and the presence of Montana State University Billings and its business resources.

Though Bornstein declined to divulge starting salaries of the jobs that will come with the operations center, he said the company would offer "competitive wages and outstanding benefits."

He said he has no worries that the company will be able to attract workers, despite Billings' low unemployment rate.

Bornstein credited Baucus' tenacity in getting GE to take a serious look at Montana. Baucus said Saturday morning that he has being wooing the huge conglomerate for the past seven years, talking to GE CEO Jeff Immelt about the advantages of locating in Montana.

"Frankly, I think this accelerated a bit when GE very kindly and graciously agreed to come to Montana and help host our economic development summit," Baucus said.

Bornstein was one of the GE officials who attended the two-day summit in the spring, making his first trip to Montana, Baucus said.

"And we just kept talking and kept encouraging the two Jeffs to take a look at our state and see what's here, and, lo and behold, the company made a decision to come to Montana," he said.

When the time came to pick a city, Baucus said, "I stayed out of it. That's a General Electric decision and they're very, very professional about that."

Bornstein said that during his initial Montana visit, he was impressed by what he saw.

"We were blown away by the level of energy at the conference and the quality of people we met," he said.

Bornstein liked the fact that Schweitzer gave him his cell phone number and encouraged him to call day or night with any questions.

Schweitzer, at the news conference, called the effort to bring GE to Montana teamwork between Baucus' office, the state and local officials.

"It's finding a way to put all the assets we have in Montana together," he said.

The governor said Montana has the ability to be competitive not only because of its trained and motivated workforce, but because of the understanding of what it will take to lure new businesses to the state.

"Montana recognizes we're no longer just in competition with Indiana, we're in competition with India," he said.

Workforce training programs and facility financing all play a part in providing an attractive climate for businesses, Schweitzer said.

"If you give us a chance, we'll prove our value," he said.

Joe McClure, executive director of BSEDA, who attended the news conference, said BSEDA put together a package of economic incentives to help bring GE to Billings. That included:

n $500,000, paid to GE over 10 years by BSEDA and the Big Sky Economic Development Corporation. The boards of the two entities, both aware of the proposal, will be asked to approve the money in the next few weeks.

n Seeking a grant through the state Department of Commerce for job training grants of up to $5,000 per eligible job.

n Seeking a Big Sky Trust Fund grant to offset costs of getting the facility up and running.

n Applying to the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce to help cover infrastructure costs.

McClure talked before the event about the accelerating number of nationally known businesses coming into Billings. Companies such as Timec, Ernest Health and a large retailer in the proposed Shiloh Crossing development and Cabela's already are in business, will soon be or are proposed for Billings.

"Once you hit that magic number of 100,000 in population, any community starts to pop up on the radar screen of major retailers and also companies looking for relocation or expansion opportunities," McClure said.

Retailers are looking for shoppers, he said, and commercial and industrial companies are in search of a viable workforce.

"In the state of Montana, we are the premier workforce center because of our size and population," McClure said.

Also attractive, he said, is the large workforce in Eastern Montana and northern Wyoming, where people are looking for opportunities outside of their rural communities.

The ability to train workers also is crucial, McClure said. He pointed out that Ernest Health, which is building a long-term medical center, has a seat on the National Advisory Board for the MSUB College of Technology and is interested in setting up a nursing pathways program at the new COT building.

"It's all about a trained workforce," he said. "That's one reason why BSEDA and the Economic Development Corporation contributed to the building of the new (COT) facility because we see that as a key to attracting new industry," McClure said.

Contact Susan Olp at solp@billingsgazette.com or 657-1281.

20070929T235543Z