Industrial conglomerate General Electric on Thursday announced plans to open an operations center somewhere in Montana next year, creating 150 jobs in the process.

The center will be part of the firm's Commercial Finance division, a business-to-business unit that works with companies on lending, leasing and financing for everything from heavy equipment to office machines.

A city for the center hasn't been chosen. Spokesman John Oliver said GE will have a team in Montana for much of June, looking around the state for a site as well as considering whether to use an existing building or build anew.

Oliver said the company was attracted by the state's "motivated workforce, and you have a high quality of life."

He added: "We've been looking at Montana for literally years. This is a business decision based on our needs for capacity."

City manager Tim Burton said Helena will be a player as GE looks for a location.

"Helena is an attractive spot for it," he said. "What we need to do is work with our team, which includes MBAC, the chamber of commerce, the City Commission and citizens, to learn what it is GE requires in picking a site, and we'll do what we can to educate GE about the value of moving into a city like Helena."

Sheldon Bartel, director of the Montana Business Assistance Connection, said he expects a request for proposals from the firm to make the rounds, with a competition ensuing among Montana cities to land the new center.

"We do have existing facilities that may meet their criteria, or we would work with them on a greenfield site to build to suit," he said.

The annoucement was made through the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, who noted that GE's decision to expand here came shortly after the firm attended Baucus' economic development summit in Butte.

"This new center will be a real investment in our state's economy and will bring hundreds of new jobs," Baucus said in a statement.

Oliver admitted that Baucus, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, was another reason the company looked at Montana.

"Frankly, Senator Baucus is a very good representative for your state," he said.

Headquartered in Fairfield, Conn., GE employs some 330,000 people worldwide, including around 25,000 in Commercial Finance. Oliver said the firm currently has around 50 assorted employees around Montana.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.