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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Gibson Guitars Doubles Bozeman, Montana, Acoustic Guitar Factory

03/08/2021
Gibson Guitars, known for its legendary acoustic guitars, plans to more than double its manufacturing center in Bozeman, Montana. The expansion will potentially create 100 to 200 jobs.

The company said they plan to expand its 23,000-square-foot facility by 25,000 square feet with construction expected to finish in about a year. Gibson also plans to build a custom shop and showroom at its Bozeman campus, which will celebrate the 119- year history of Gibson’s handcrafted acoustic guitars.

James “JC” Curleigh, president and CEO of Gibson Brands, Inc., said last spring’s COVID-19 shutdown initially brought about “more questions than answers” for the company. “We were facing a factory shutdown with a pandemic that we didn’t really see coming,” he said. “We had guitar dealers that were closed that weren’t selling guitars.”

However, the crisis pivoted in the summer, according to Curleigh. People with more creativity and time started to buy guitars. Now Gibson is expanding its acoustic guitar factory in Bozeman to help meet the increasing demand.

“We’ve got a new generation of guitarists, and we’re going to have a new generation factory here,” Curleigh added.

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