Years after the Montrose lumber mill went into receivership and was on the brink of closing, a Wyoming based company bought the business and reopened it Monday.

"While we're very happy that the receiver maintained the business by keeping some of the jobs there, it really needed some solid ownership," Sandy Head with the Montrose Economic Development Corporation said.

Head helped facilitate the sale of the mill to Neiman Enterprises, but did not know the final agreed price. What she is sure about is the impact this move has on the local economy.

"They have the resources, they have the knowledge and it's not going to be an experimental situation," Head said.

Head says this transaction was unique and took longer than expected because the receiver owned the assets and another company owned the land.

The Montrose mill is Neiman's first property in Colorado and local leaders are excited about the opportunity it brings.

"It's going to put people back to work and it's good for forest health and management," County Commissioner David White said.

For White, this latest news also has more of a personal meaning. "My son used to work at the mill before it shut down, so this might mean a job again for him."

Like White's son, hundreds of people were impacted when the mill went into receivership. The move decreased demand at the operation and left many employees jobless for weeks at a time.

But officials say that is all about to change.

"Since the mill has reopened with 90 solid jobs, loggers and mill workers know they have a definite market," Head said.

Neiman has taken over operations in Montrose and officials say it will not only impact the lives of all of the employees, but will also have a much further reaching effect helping sustain the industry across the region.

"When you factor in the services that will be supporting the mill, it could total around 400 jobs," Head said.

Despite taking several years to come to this resolution, officials say it was all worth the wait. "Whatever outcome there is, it's the outcome that's meant to be. And this is the best, most positive outcome that we could have expected," White concluded.