MONTANA – The Montana District Export Council, in partnership with the Montana Department of Commerce, has awarded Kalispell-based high-performance electric motor manufacturer Burgi Engineers LLC the 2019 Montana Exporter of the Year.

Burgi Engineers, which has been in business since 2002, designs and manufactures high-performance electric motors, high-speed gearboxes and rotating machinery test stands for customers worldwide, primarily in the automotive and aerospace industries.

The Montana District Export Council (DEC) supports Montana exporters and provides a collective Montana exporter voice to advise on export education needs and disseminate education opportunities to its collective networks. The ExportMontana office at Commerce is a member of the Montana DEC.

“Having been through the process with the Montana DEC of choosing an exporter of the year for the last three years, I am humbled to see the quality not only of manufacturers we have in our state, but the sophistication of their export processes,” said Barry Wood, chair of the Montana District Export Council. “As we went through the process this year, the overall theme kept coming back to what an amazing product Burgi has and what great people they are. We are very proud to have a company like Burgi represent our state this year, and we look forward to witnessing their future success.”

Burgi Engineers expanded its workforce from eight employees in 2017 to 15 employees in 2019, and increased its exports almost threefold in the same two-year period. The company is recognized as a world leader in the high-speed, high-power niche market for test stands, which are used to simulate the high speeds and torques typically found in jet engines.

The company’s export growth over the past several years has primarily been through exports to Japan, Poland, Brazil and India.

"Over the past several years Burgi Engineers has made significant advancements in developing faster and more powerful motors and speed increasing gearboxes, and as a result we’ve increased revenues both domestically and abroad,” Vice President of Burgi Engineers Dan Burgi said. “We’ve made a big push to vertically integrate our manufacturing process and those investments in equipment have had the benefit of creating more high-tech manufacturing jobs here in the Flathead Valley. Kalispell has provided an outstanding labor pool from which we’ve assembled a top-notch team of engineers and machinists. As we continue to grow, we’re looking to hire more technically competent people to help us take our world class machines to the next level.”

Examples of some of the machinery Burgi Engineers has designed and built over the past several years can be found on their website. 

Applications are being accepted for the 2020 Exporter of the Year. For more information about the Montana District Export Council and to apply for Exporter of the Year, visit MARKETMT.COM.