Montana receives 40,000 pounds of aluminium; Workers to resume regular license plate production

Montana Correctional Enterprises (MCE) received nearly 40,000 pounds of aluminium last week, allowing workers to resume regular licence plate manufacturing for the state of Montana after contending with a shortfall of aluminium in late October due to supply chain interruptions.

MCE is a division of the Montana Department of Corrections, and its licence plate facility in Deer Lodge manufactures around 750,000 plates each year for all 56 Montana counties.

MCE ran out of aluminium at the end of October, and owing to nationwide material scarcity, the shop had no clear indication from suppliers as to when it should anticipate its next shipment.

Butler and her team decided that as a short-term remedy, MCE would print licence plates using the same reflective sheeting used in its regular manufacturing process but without the metal backing, after consulting with the Montana Department of Justice's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD).

“Last week’s delivery provides us with enough material to make more than 200,000 aluminum license plates and take us through February or March 2022. Workers in the license plate shop are working overtime to get us caught up,” said MCE Administrator Gayle Butler in a news release.

According to Laurie Bakri, MVD administrator, the approximately 1,200 persons who obtained temporary plates could anticipate acquiring an aluminium plate within the next four months now that the usual procedure has begun.