The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to eight companies for job creation and expansion projects. These awards will assist in the creation of 308 jobs, retention of four jobs and will result in nearly $456 million in new capital investment for the state. The board also approved innovation funding for four startups.
The board approved assistance for planned or proposed projects located in Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Fairfield, Iowa City, Johnston, Keokuk, Sioux City, Waukee and West Des Moines.
ePATHUSA to relocate into new office space
ePATHUSA, Inc., located in West Des Moines, was established in May 2005 and is a software development company that specializes in business intelligence, application development, web design and hosting and software quality assurance. The company is proposing to relocate into a new office building to accommodate the expansion and future growth of the company. The board awarded ePATHUSA $40,000 in direct financial assistance as well as tax benefits via the High Quality Jobs Program (HQJ) to create five new jobs that are incented at a qualifying wage of $26.72 per hour. The project is expected to have a capital investment of $405,750.
Future Foam to construct new building
Future Foam, Inc. started business in Council Bluffs in 1958. The company currently has five locations in Council Bluffs and is a major manufacturer of polyurethane foam products used in furniture, bedding, carpet padding, packaging and other applications. The company was awarded tax benefits through the Targeted Jobs Withholding Tax Credit (TJWTC) program for the construction of a new building to house the expansion of the IT department. This $720,000 capital investment is expected to retain four jobs and create six jobs, of which three are incented at a qualifying wage of $17.93 per hour.
Fairfield’s Hawthorne Direct receives assistance for expansion
Hawthorne Direct, LLC is a technology-based firm that utilizes proprietary analytics, data science and systems to develop accountable broadcast and digital campaigns. The company is looking to grow and relocate within Fairfield to accommodate the expansion of research and development, data science, media management and operation positions. Hawthorne received $75,000 in direct financial assistance as well as tax benefits via HQJ for this $385,000 capital investment. The project is expected to create 15 jobs at a qualifying hourly wage of $15.93.
Holmes Murphy to lease building space in Waukee
HMA Group (a.k.a. Holmes Murphy) originated in Des Moines and has a presence in 14 states. The company is an independent insurance brokerage firm that partners with business and industry leaders in the areas of property casualty, employee benefits, captive insurance, risk management and loss control. With recent growth of the company, Holmes Murphy intends to lease a build-to-suit office building in Waukee. The company received tax benefits from HQJ for this $1.8 million capital investment. The project is expected to create 17 jobs at a qualifying wage of $26.72 per hour.
Keokuk Mills to reopen steel casting foundry
Keokuk Mills, LLC, is a company recently formed to reopen the Keokuk Steel Manufacturing Company, which was closed in March 2016 by its parent company. The new organization proposes to restart operations of the steel casting foundry that produces castings for manufacturers in the agricultural, construction and utility industries. The project has a capital investment of $4.5 million and is expected to create 200 jobs at a qualifying wage of $14.39 per hour. The board awarded the project direct financial assistance of $1 million and tax benefits via HQJ. Additionally, the TJWTC program will also be accessed in the amount of $400,000 to assist with this project in Keokuk.
Microsoft receives assistance for regional data center in West Des Moines
Microsoft Corporation develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a range of services, devices and software products for a wide variety of devices. The company was awarded tax benefits from HQJ for phase one of a four-phase regional data center and associated support infrastructure to house servers and computer equipment to operate large-scale web portal services as part of Microsoft's online services businesses. The $417.7 million capital investment in West Des Moines is expected to create 57 jobs, of which 11 are incented at a qualifying wage of $27.92 per hour.
Sioux City refrigerated warehouse facility plans expansion project
Cloverleaf Cold Storage Company is a family-owned and operated warehouse company offering public and contract storage in refrigerated, frozen and dry environments. All Cloverleaf warehouses are food-grade facilities, and the majority of company throughput is related to the food processing, food service and retail business. Cloverleaf plans to expand the existing facility to meet increased sales demand. This expansion complements their Farmer's Produce business and will help enable the storage of produce after manufacturing. The company received tax benefits via HQJ for this $18 million capital investment. The project is expected to create eight jobs, of which one is incented at a qualifying wage of $20.17 per hour.
Modernization project planned for Cedar Rapids animal feed ingredients company
ReConserve, Inc., parent company of Cedar Rapids-based ReConserve of Iowa, Inc., owns and operates plants for the collection and processing of bakery waste materials into animal feed ingredients. ReConserve is planning a project that includes land acquisition and site improvements that will keep the company in Iowa and help them operate more efficiently. The board awarded ReConserve tax benefits through HQJ for this $12 million modernization project.
Awards made to four startups
The Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR) Fund provides financial assistance to innovative businesses pursuing proof of commercial relevance and marketability of a technology. The fund is designed to assist businesses with new technologies that have completed the proof of concept stage and are ready to be subjected to the rigors of the proof of commercial relevance stage that includes defining the market for the product and perfecting the product to meet market needs.
Award recommendations for this fund are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee (TCC) to the IEDA Board for approval.
Clear Carbon, LLC is a new business venture based in West Des Moines. The company’s primary purpose is to refine, manufacture, sell and deliver biomass-sourced activated carbon. Innovative production processes being refined by the company have the capacity to serve the U.S. power industry by using renewable sources. The board awarded Clear Carbon a $25,000 POCR loan for pilot testing that can demonstrate real-world applications.
Iowa City-based Clipse Therapeutics, LLC was formed in April 2015 with the mission to develop a disposable platform device to rapidly deliver drugs through the buccal cavity (inner cheek) of a human patient. Buccal drug delivery through the device is easy, fast and avoids injections. The first targeted market is the delivery of a generic anticonvulsant drug for the urgent treatment of epileptic seizures. The board awarded Clipse a $25,000 POCR loan for the company’s plan to conduct a marketing study to determine product competitiveness.
Fermented Labs, LLC (dba Brewd) is located in Johnston and has discovered a significant opportunity to provide tools to help breweries run more efficiently. This includes everything from buying raw materials to state and federal government reporting. Brewd’s software platform not only allows breweries to run more cost effectively but also provides critical information to the business. The board awarded Brewd a $25,000 POCR loan for product development.
iTR Diagnostics, located in Cedar Falls, has developed a Parkinson’s disease diagnostic system that the company believes to be more accurate than current methods. The system is designed to diagnose patients before physical symptoms appear, allowing for earlier, more effective and less expensive treatments. Their system can also track disease progression for patient care and research purposes. The board awarded the company a $25,000 POCR loan to conduct a market research study.
Download a spreadsheet of awards:iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/UserDocs/documents/IEDA/july16awards.pdf