The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to seven companies for job creation and expansion projects. Today's awards will assist in the creation of 194 jobs and will result in $81 million in new capital investment for the state.
The board approved assistance for planned or proposed projects located in Story City, Belle Plaine, Benton County, Urbana, Cedar Falls, Urbandale and Clarksville.
Packager to expand in Story City
American Packaging Corporation is an integrated, flexible packaging converter that services the food, beverage, medical, personal care, household, pet food, agricultural chemical, lawn and garden and other specialty markets. The company is a flexible packaging converter specializing in flexographic and rotogravure printing, multi-ply extrusion and adhesive lamination of film, paper and foil. In order to stay competitive with the market, the company’s proposed $44 million expansion would add two new printing presses, a tri-plex laminator, ancillary equipment and a building addition, giving the facility more capacity to enable growth. The board approved a $470,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs Program (HQJP) to create 94 jobs at a qualifying wage of $23.21 per hour.
Natural products company to expand in three Iowa locations
Frontier Co-op specializes in natural and organic products such as herbs, spices, foods, teas and aromatherapy products. Frontier Co-op offers high-quality products that are both environmentally friendly and socially responsible. The co-op is proposing expansion in three Iowa locations: Belle Plaine, Benton County and Urbana.
The Belle Plaine expansion includes the purchase of a new building to serve as a warehouse and distribution center for the co-op’s Simply Organic and Aura Cacia brands. The proposed project would result in a capital investment of $2.8 million and create 16 jobs, two of which are incented at a qualifying wage of $15.76 per hour. The board approved tax benefits through the HQJP.
In Benton County, Frontier Co-op’s proposed expansion includes the addition of a new bottling line and renovation of the food and flavorings facility in Norway. The $8.4 million project will increase capacity and also allow Frontier Co-op to maintain compliance with new food safety and sanitation regulations. The board awarded the company $82,500 in direct financial assistance as well as tax benefits through the HQJP to create 23 new jobs, of which 11 are incented at a qualifying wage of $19.54 per hour.
The proposed project in Urbana includes an addition of heated/cooled space on Frontier Co-op’s existing production/warehousing facility. The facility will mostly warehouse bulk essential oils and related aromatherapy products. The expansion will also include an additional bottling line for the essential oils and distribution equipment and will have a capital investment of $4.4 million. The board approved tax benefits through the HQJP for the creation of six jobs, with one incented at a qualifying wage of $17.01 per hour.
Cedar Falls expansion supported for food distributor
Martin Brothers is a full-line, family and employee-owned food service distributor providing products and equipment to restaurants, schools, nursing care facilities and other institutional facilities. The proposed expansion project would add approximately 77,000 square feet to the dry goods, refrigerated and frozen food areas of the company’s existing Cedar Falls Industrial Park distribution facility. The board approved tax incentives for this expansion that would create 35 new jobs, with 16 incented at a qualifying wage of $19.13 per hour. The proposed project will have a capital investment of $16 million.
Probiotic manufacturer expanding in Urbandale
Probioferm LLC grows and markets high-quality, beneficial bacteria with the expertise to utilize these cultures to manufacture custom blends, nutritional supplements and gels and pastes. The company is a contract manufacturer, providing animal product development, probiotic private label products and finished product manufacturing that caters to small-to-medium sized markets. Probioferm is proposing a $1.9 million expansion to internalize its product packaging and accommodate the additional space needed for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution. The board awarded the project tax benefits via the HQJP for the expansion that will create four new jobs, one of which is incented at a qualifying wage of $25.52 per hour.
Door company plans expansion in Clarksville
Creative Composites develops, manufactures and sells specialty door cores. To accommodate a new specialty door core that the company just developed, Creative Composites is proposing an expansion to its manufacturing facility in Clarksville. The $2.9 million project would also include processing equipment needed to produce this door core in volume to serve a growing market segment in the commercial door business. The board approved an $18,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the HQJP for this project that will create 16 jobs, six of which are incented at a qualifying wage of $15.12 per hour.
Download a spreadsheet of the awards:
http://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/UserDocs/documents/IEDA/july15awards.pdf