Area Development
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded financial assistance and tax benefits to four companies for job creation and expansion projects. The incentives will assist in the creation of 96 jobs and will result in almost $86 million in new capital investment throughout the Iowa.

Projects were assisted in Davenport, Ames, Charles City, Burlington, Des Moines, Coralville and Clinton, Iowa. In Davenport, Alter Trading Corporation is one of the largest metal recycling companies in the country, recycling both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company plans to build a new facility on land adjacent to the existing plant in Davenport as part of its $5.9 million expansion project and create 13 jobs. The board has approved tax incentives for the company through the High Quality Jobs program.

Italian-based Barilla will receive state assistance to expand its facility in Ames. Currently, the Barilla Group owns 30 production sites and exports to more than 100 countries. The company’s facility in Ames is planning to add two production lines, raw material storage and associated packaging and palletizing equipment to produce gluten-free pasta.

The board awarded Barilla tax benefits via HQJP for this $26.5 million capital investment that is expected to create 23 jobs, of which two are incented, at a qualifying wage of $23.21 per hour.

In Charles City, Cambrex will increase manufacturing capacity with assistance from a state incentive grant. Cambrex Charles City, Inc., a subsidiary of Cambrex Corporation of East Rutherford, New Jersey, manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and pharmaceutical intermediates for both the generic and branded human pharmaceutical markets.

As a result of recent rapid growth, Cambrex has identified the need for a capital expansion to increase manufacturing capacity. The proposed facility will be built and outfitted with commercial scale Current Good Manufacturing Practices assets, 45,000 square feet of warehousing, QC labs, internal roads, and a second facility entrance. The board awarded Cambrex tax benefits through the HQJP to create 32 jobs.

In Burlington, Federal-Mogul Ignition received an award for its expansion project. Federal-Mogul Ignition is a part of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation based out of Southfield, Michigan. Federal-Mogul is a tier 1 automotive component manufacturer for major original equipment manufacturers, such as GM, Chrysler, Hyundai, Audi, BMW and Ford.

The company’s Burlington plant manufactures spark plugs that are primarily used in internal combustion engines with gasoline or LPG / CNG gas as fuel. The company was awarded $100,000 in direct financial assistance through HQJP for its expansion project that is set to create 28 jobs, of which 11 are incented. The project, which involves expanding capacity to integrate product packaging and installing packaging equipment, represents a $925,000 capital investment.