Navajo Transitional Energy Co. celebrated its recent expansion with a move a few doors north in the same commercial complex to 4801 N. Butler Ave., Unit 12.
The Farmington Chamber of Commerce Redcoats and other members of the business community were in attendance at the April 25 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Since about 2019 we’ve actually done nothing but grow,” said Andy Hawkins, NTEC training and community relations senior manager.
Hawkins has been with NTEC since 2021. He previously worked for Navajo Mine.
NTEC purchased Navajo Mine in 2019, but the mine continued to be operated by North American Coal Corp. for several years. In October 2021, NTEC took over operation of the mine.
Navajo Mine is on the Navajo Nation. Its workforce is about 85% Native American.
NTEC acquired 7% owner in the Four Corners Power Plant in 2018, becoming the first tribal-owned company to have partial ownership in a coal-fired power plant. The company has about 1,400 employees, with just under 400 employees working at Navajo Mine.
“We outgrew the two spaces we were in before and, when this space became available, it was the perfect opportunity for us to expand,” Hawkins said.
The new office space provides an additional 1,600 square feet of space and allows employees who were previously spread between two offices in the complex to work in the same office.
NTEC also owns three coal mines in Montana and Wyoming, as well as a helium mining operation in Sanostee called Tacitus, which was purchased in 2021. Hawkins announced at the ribbon-cutting that Tacitus recently went into production and is now selling helium.
Aside from filling party balloons, helium is also used as a shielding gas for arc welding, in airbags for quick deployment, in nuclear reactors, for magnetic resonance imaging and for emphysema treatment.
The new office features artwork from several Native American artists.
A custom painting by Beverly Blacksheep, a Navajo artist from Salina Springs, Arizona, was on display in one of the new offices. Bob Lansing, who was in attendance, created a custom pottery plate for NTEC as well.
On May 3, NTEC celebrated its 10th year in business.
