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Nomad Delivers First Disaster Response Vehicles to Corps of Engineers

By Beacon Staff

When the United States Army Corps of Engineers responds to a natural disaster, it sends in the most advanced communication technology available. To ensure the highest quality, the agency conducts rigorous research and an intensive contracting process.

In other words, the Corps knows what it’s looking for, and seems to have found it in an unlikely place: right outside of Columbia Falls.

Nomad Global Communication Solutions, a firm located on U.S. Highway 2 near Glacier Park International Airport, has delivered the first three of 12 emergency command and communication vehicles specially designed for the Corps’ Deployable Tactical Operations System. The first two vehicles went to Mobile, Ala., and the third left Nomad’s facility on Nov. 5, bound for Baltimore.

Zach Emery tests the interlocks on a new Emergency Command and Communications Vehicle built by Nomad Global Communication Solutions for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.


Will Schmautz, Nomad’s CEO, said his company is the only manufacturer of these types of vehicles for the Corps. After the current 12-vehicle contract is complete, with deliveries staggered through March, Schmautz said eight more could follow.

“The project has gone exceptionally well,” Schmautz said. “So well in fact, they have found a need for more.”

The fact that Nomad is working with a high-profile client like the Corps reflects the company’s impressive growth, from a fledgling operation started by four friends in a barn eight years ago to a high-tech manufacturing firm with national appeal today.

With the Corps contract, Nomad’s employee count has risen to around 70. And its revenue stream this year is two-and-a-half times greater than the previous year’s, Schmautz said. Next year could be even better.

By emphasizing innovation, quality and dependability, Schmautz said Nomad has managed to rise above other companies in the Corps’ competitive bidding process.

“We hope we continue to maintain our edge,” Schmautz said. “We work our tails off to ensure that.”

Schmautz said the Corps is as thorough in researching and selecting its business partners as anyone he’s seen in eight years. Contracts are not thrown out freely.

“As a taxpayer, these guys impress me,” Schmautz said. “There’s not a chance in the world they’re going to waste money. They do things right.”

The emergency command and communication vehicles are 45-feet long, 13.5-feet tall and 15-feet wide when the slide-out features are engaged. Nomad has also built smaller vans for the Corps, which will be used for emergency response as well. Schmautz said the smaller units will be certified by the United States Air Force to be taken by airplane to overseas locations.

Employees work on mobile command centers in the Nomad Global Communication Solutions facility near Columbia Falls.


The vehicles feature multi-banded radio interoperability, satellite technology, cellular connectivity for 3G and 4G networks, and various other elements that round out their ability to function as self-contained mobile command centers. They are equipped to travel to the site of any natural disaster and could also be used in other situations, such as terrorism, according to Schmautz.

“They’re some of the most impressive units we’ve built,” Schmautz said. “I think they’re going to be some of the most capable, impressive units in the country.”

After design plans are completed, each command center is in Nomad’s shop for 12 weeks. Schmautz estimates about 4,000 man hours go into each unit, not including the design process. Teams of engineers, fabricators, painters and detailers all play a role in crafting the specialized product.

As Nomad grows, Schmautz increasingly finds himself in places like Mobile, Ala., Columbus, Ohio, and Washington D.C. In addition to the Corps contract, the company stays busy with other mobile command center projects for clients across the nation.

“It’s a great feeling,” Schmautz said. “It’s a busy place – you can feel the hum in here.”