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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Iowa Economic Development Authority Grants Inspire 5 Manufacturers To Invest More Than $25 Million In Expansion Projects

09/23/2013
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to five companies in Marion, Marshalltown, Clive, Sioux City and Spirit Lake, to encourage job creation and expansion projects.

IEDA officials said its incentive awards, which are intended to support the growth of start-ups and small businesses, will result in more than $25 million in new capital investment, create 71 jobs and retain about 260 jobs.

“The majority of the projects the board approved today are for headquarters and research and development facilities,” said IEDA Director Debi Durham. “Those are exactly the kind of projects that keep and build wealth in our state. It’s even better that many of those same projects are existing Iowa companies with strong community and statewide involvement.”

Firms receiving assistance included;

ELPLAST America, Inc., which plans to establish a manufacturing operations center in Marion, Iowa. ELPLAST manufactures and supplies the EL-ZIP brand of press-to-close zippers for flexible packaging used by manufactures in the food, pet food, lawn care, pharmaceutical and other industries. ELPLAST is considering Marion as the location for its North American facility. The board awarded ELPLAST tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs Program for its $4.1 million project that will create 10 jobs, three of which are incented.

Another manufacturer, Emerson, is considering locating an additive manufacturing center and related shared service production operation at its existing Emerson Innovation Center facility in Marshalltown, Iowa, where its Fisher Controls business unit is co-located. The first phase of this almost $6 million project is focused on research and development of additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3-D printing. A second phase, including production facilities, could be considered after the successful completion of the R&D phase. The board awarded Emerson tax credits through the High Quality Jobs Program to assist with the project that will create four jobs.

A third party logistics company that provides customized, fully outsourced, comprehensive supply chain management solutions, Jacobson Companies, is considering relocation of its headquarters, to Clive, Iowa. The $2.3 million project was approved by the board for direct financial assistance to retain 220 jobs, 98 of which are incented and create an additional 10 jobs.

Finally, Rembrandt Enterprises, an agribusiness and food company, is looking to expand its current facilities into Spirit Lake, Iowa, to position the company for future growth. The company’s three divisions provide ingredients to leading pet food manufacturers, agronomy solutions directly to farmers and customized egg products for the food ingredient industry. The IEDA board approved direct financial assistance in the amount of $210,000 and tax benefits to Rembrandt to ensure the new headquarters facility remains in Iowa. The $3.2 million project would create 22 jobs, of which 14 are incented and retain 40 incented jobs.

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