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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

State Incentives Spark Business Expansion in Sioux County and Ames, Iowa

08/21/2018
Two companies, Sioux-Preme Packing in Sioux County and Smart Ag in Ames, Iowa, will expand with financial incentives provided by the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The awards of direct financial assistance and tax benefits will assist the to companies to create about 90 jobs and result in close to $30 million in new capital investment for the state.

Specialty pork processor Sioux-Preme Packing, Co. plans to expand its pork harvest operation in Sioux County, with a 50,000 square-foot addition to help meet demand for its specialty pork products.

The Sioux Center facility was acquired by Perdue Farms in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Natural Food Holdings and its brands. The expansion will include installation of high tech automated pork cutting equipment and water jet cutting technologies. The project represents a $29 million investment by Sioux-Preme and will create 50 new jobs, of which 10 are incented at a qualifying wage of $20.41 per hour. Sioux-Preme was awarded tax incentives from the High Quality Jobs Program.

Agricultural technology firm Smart Ag, Inc., fully automate tractors so they may be used without drivers for various operations, plans to add-on and make improvements to its leased facility in Ames. The board awarded Smart Ag $250,000 in direct financial assistance as well as tax benefits from HQJ for this $830,000 capital investment. The project is expected to create 40 jobs, all of which are incented at a qualifying wage of $26.11 per hour.

In addition to those incentives, University of Northern Iowa’s Metal Casting Center was approved for Strategic Infrastructure Program grant.

The Economic Development Authority board approved a $1.5 million grant for the University of Northern Iowa’s Metal Casting Center Additive Manufacturing project. The funding will help UNI purchase and set up new equipment, which will advance metal casting technology in the state by enabling the use of 3-D printing to produce high quality investment castings more quickly and consistently. UNI will also transfer the technology to the industry and assist in its adoption and utilization as part of the project.

The Strategic Infrastructure Program supports projects that develop foundational assets with a goal of providing a competitive advantage to the private sector or creating needed physical infrastructure in Iowa. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the Iowa Innovation Council to the IEDA board for approval.

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