2026 January 1 – June 30 Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) Program Report During the first half of 2026, January 1 to June 30, Minot Area Chamber EDC visited 21 businesses as part of their Business Retention and Expansion efforts. Background information was collected from each business prior to an on-site interview being conducted. A summary of the data gathered is below. •
Ten of the businesses are from the construction sector, four are from the manufacturing sector and seven of the businesses are from various other sectors. o The sites visited in Minot are the headquarters for 13 of the businesses, a division for six of the businesses and office operations for two. o The primary product or service provided by 15 of the businesses is a component, five provide a finished product and one business provides both equally. o Nineteen of the businesses serve a regional market, one has a national market and one serves the local market. o Their reported market coverage ranged from 10% to 75%, with an average of 42% and a median of 35%. o Sixteen of the businesses are current members/investors of MACEDC.
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The businesses have a total of 996 employees, including 863 in full-time, non-seasonal positions. o The current workforce of the businesses is exceeding their expectations in terms of quality, stability and availability. (Figure 1) o Over the last three years, five of the businesses added positions (16 jobs added total) and five of the businesses eliminated positions (33 jobs lost total).
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Annual sales, among those willing to share that information, ranged from $3M to $163M, with a median of $8.5M and an average of $32M. o Capital investments over the past two years ranged from $0 to $10M, with a median of $1M and an average of $1M.
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Six of the businesses are growing, nine are maturing and six businesses said they are declining. o Company sales are increasing for eight of the businesses and stable for 13.
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Six of the businesses indicated they have plans to expand within the next five years. o The age/condition of facilities and labor costs were rated as the biggest barriers to growth in Minot, followed closely by cost of living and tax rates. (Figure 2) o Minot’s business climate received a mean rating of 3.00 on a scale of one to five, with one being low and five being high.
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The businesses indicated that possible legislative changes over the next two years were much more likely to benefit them than adversely affect them.
Minot Area Chamber EDC January – June 2026 BR&E Summary
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