Tim Harty, The Business Times

As wins for the Grand Junction Economic Partnership go, this one was “seismic.”

That was GJEP Executive Director Curtis Englehart’s word for what it meant to land Morgan Mining, a Tennessee-based company that chose to expand its business in Grand Junction instead of in its home state.

And that means up to 893 jobs will be created over the next eight years, and those will be jobs with an average annual wage of $92,447. In Mesa County, the average annual wage is $56,524.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), GJEP and Morgan Mining made the announcement Feb. 20.

Morgan Mining received approval for Colorado’s Job Growth Tax Incentive, valued at up to $10,890,875 in eligible tax credits, contingent on job creation and salary requirements.

To put his “seismic” characterization in perspective, Englehart offered: “It’s just a really big win for our community, and honestly, it’s the largest one we’ve had in the history of our organization.”

It’s the kind of success he thinks will breed more success.

“I would say historically, really going back to 2016, GJEP has really relied heavily on the Rural Jumpstart Program, which is a great, performance-based incentive tool to help us level up and compete a little bit more with metro areas,” Englehart said. “But as we continue to grow as a county and have really incredible resources for businesses, we’re able to really start competing against these larger communities like in Knoxville, Tennessee, or a Boise, Idaho, or Reno, Nevada, where we haven’t been able to that in the past.

“And so to me, this win is a great example of showcasing just the business resources and just how we’re able to really level up when it comes to competing with other states and other communities. So, we’re really pleased to see the utilization of the job growth incentive tax credit.”

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and started in 1989, Morgan Mining is an interdisciplinary construction, mining, engineering and management firm and is part of the Morgan family of companies.

As the company identified the need to expand its operations, particularly its mining services, the company faced the decision of either expanding its headquarters in Knoxville or its facility in Mesa County.

Morgan Mining President Justin Morgan explained his decision by saying: “We decided that creating a mining-focused hub in Mesa County provided the best economic and growth opportunities for Morgan. From the outset of this expansion project, OEDIT and GJEP were very actively engaged with us and ultimately provided the support needed to tip the scales in favor of Mesa County.”

Morgan Mining is already in Mesa County, having made its way there via Delta when it acquired Phoenix Mining at the beginning of 2024. Morgan Mining outgrew Phoenix Mining’s offices in Delta, where it created more than 150 new jobs in the region, and moved to Grand Junction later in the year.

Englehart said Morgan Mining is acquiring extra square footage in one of the buildings at the former Halliburton Industrial Park, 365 32 Road, which is now called Grand Mesa Industrial Park.

Englehart added the majority of the workers that Morgan Mining will be hiring will be based at that facility, and there it also plans to develop additional mining-equipment maintenance and parts inventory, and provide education and training programs.

Englehart said one of the draws to Grand Junction for Morgan Mining was the workforce it encountered in the area.

“When we started working with them, they already had a Western Slope presence, and they are really pleased with the workforce that we have here in Mesa County and on the Western Slope,” Englehart said.

The workforce won’t come solely from Western Colorado, though, and bringing new people to Grand Junction is another boon to the Grand Junction economy, he said.

WANT A JOB WITH MORGAN MINING?

People interested in working for Morgan Mining are encouraged to apply at www.morgan1.com/careers. Current job openings are for those with prior mining experience, but new positions for those looking to transition into a career in the mining industry will be posted as this expansion moves forward.

WHAT IS THE JOB GROWTH TAX INCENTIVE?

Approved by the Colorado Economic Development Commission, the Job Growth Tax Incentive is an eight-year job creation incentive to support competitive, multi-state or county relocation and expansion projects.

The tax credit gives businesses a Colorado state income tax credit equal to 50 percent of Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax paid by the company per net new job for each calendar year in the credit period.

The tax credit is performance-based, and the tax incentive is only paid out when new job creation is realized by the business.To count toward the incentive, companies must pay new employees at least 100 percent of the average annual wage in the county in which they will be located.