William Hess can hardly contain his enthusiasm for his job at Local Bounti, an agri-business located east of Hamilton. The 28-year old Hess started there as a general laborer and has quickly moved up the ranks and is now head of food safety and sanitation.
Local Bounti grows various types of lettuce in a highly controlled environment. The greens are packaged at the facility and shipped out daily on semi-trucks to a maximum distance of 400 miles. The company was started by Craig Hurlbert and Travis Joyner, both of whom raised, or are raising, their families in Hamilton. Local Bounti also has two facilities in California and one in Georgia.
Local Bounti was incorporated in 2018 and went public last year, trading as LOCL on the New York Stock Exchange. It was named by BlackRock, an international investment firm, as “the #1 company to invest in during inflationary times.”
Hess said that food processing, especially at this magnitude, is highly regulated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and includes a robust food safety defense that he oversees at the Hamilton location. On a recent tour of the facility, this reporter was required to donn hat, gloves, booties and lab coat, and to wash and sanitize hands before entering the greenhouses.
Hess has a varied background, working at numerous cooking jobs and as an outfitter and camp cook in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. He was attending grad school at the University of Montana as an English Literature major when he realized that his options in the English Lit field were pretty limited. Now he works Thursday through Monday and, as an avid outdoorsman, those days suit him just fine since he can get out in the back country during the days when everyone else is working.
According to Mark Molamphy, general manager of operations, currently Local Bounti has about 49 people on staff at the Hamilton facility, but they are looking for more people, with 7 or 8 immediate openings.
“Right now we are looking for people for growing, maintenance, packing, and sanitation,” says Molamphy. “What we want more than anything are people who want to be part of improving people’s well-being in the future.”
“I want to stress to people that there’s more to agriculture than being a producer,” Molamphy added. “You might not be a grower, you might be an equipment operator, or many other things. This type of agriculture has a very strong future.”
The company offers full benefits which start on day one, including health and life insurance, competitive compensation (positions start at $15 per hour), a retirement 401k and flexible scheduling. Employ-
ees get 10 paid holidays per year and the company has an active employee assistance program, helping people with their physical and mental health and well-being.
Hess said that the staff celebrates each other’s birthdays with a meal together each Friday. “We cook the birthday celebrators what they want, or we have it catered. We enjoy being together and sharing a meal.”
Acknowledging that affordable housing can be an issue for potential new employees, Kara Bailey, Human Resource Director, said, “We usually can help people try to find a place to live that’s in their price range. We really want to take care of our employees and our people.”
Molamphy says that contrary to what most people think, although a love of gardening is helpful it is definitely not required. Most of these jobs involve computer-aided technology and training is available for anyone interested in working at Local Bounti.
A tour of the facility showed off the company’s proprietary “stack and flow” technology. Lettuce, about 30 different kinds, is grown at the location. The water can be recycled, allowing the company to use about 90% less water than conventional agriculture. Local Bounti does not treat the greens with any substances after harvesting, which is contrary to some other companies that use a chemical solution to wash the lettuce. Hess says the way they avoid that step is by making sure that sanitation meets the highest possible standards.
“Our sanitation crew is so important here,” says Hess. “It can’t be overstated. And we need more of those people. They are the people who make the product what it is.”
Hess has high praise for the final product and also for his bosses.
“It’s been really rewarding to have managers interested in seeing me grow with the company,” said Hess. “Where I am now sits precisely at the intersection of my passions and interests – I wouldn’t be where I am without their mentoring and leadership.”
Both Bailey and Molamphy come from farming backgrounds and they feel strongly that what they are involved in is a better way to feed people.
“We’re trying to find people with that passion as well,” said Molamphy. “Good hardworking people that want to make a difference.”
“We want to make our organization a company that can help the whole world grow and be healthier,” added Bailey.
“I sleep well at night knowing that this team has my back and I have theirs,” said Hess. “Local Bounti invested heavily in this community and its workers. It’s been an honor to do work that is interesting, important, challenging, and most of all, satisfying. I’ve worked at a lot of places. I love coming to work here.”
For information on job offerings, go to localbounti.com/careers