The Iowa Economic Development Board approved millions in dollars in assistance and tax breaks Thursday for 11 projects across Iowa. Tina Hoffman of the Iowa Department of Economic Development says three of the projects are in Dubuque, including McGraw-Hill Education into the Port of Dubuque area. Hoffman says Iowa was competing with an Illinois location for this project.
McGraw-Hill plans to create 24 jobs and retain 276 at the new location in the Port of Dubuque. The state is kicking in one-million dollars for the project which promises the new jobs will pay around 30-dollars an hour.
Namasco North America was awarded 400-thousand dollars for a project that she says they’ll modernize and consolidate their operations in Dubuque and will keep 173 jobs in the area. The project involves moving current Namasco employees in Pella and Des Moines to Dubuque. The last Dubuque project involves Kunkel, Bounds & Associates.
Hoffman says the company offers insurance services and will build in the Dubuque technology park and will receive 75-thousand dollars from the state. The company promises to create 24 jobs with 23 of the jobs paying an average of 23-dollars and15-cents an hour.
The owners of a former trailer manufacturing plant in Nashua won state funds to re-open the operation. She says the former Featherlite plant now owned by G-M-T Corporation was awarded 150-thousand dollars in federal funds and tax benefits to create 50 jobs in the plant. Hoffman says they’re going to weld and paint “subassemblies” for various companies. G-M-T promises to create 50 jobs.
A metal shredding company in northeast Iowa also won state money. Alter Trading promises to create five new jobs, and have applied for tax benefits to make an equipment upgrade at their plant in Waterloo. Archer Daniels Midland Company won state help for a high-tech project involving corn.
Hoffman says they’ll use the patented technology of Metabolix to produce “a new generation of high performance natural plastics.” She says the advanced manufacturing project creates 114 jobs paying an average wage of 21-60 an hour. A Denison company that makes some cool products is getting some state money.
Continental Carbonics will receive a 200-thousand dollar award to help them with their plant that will produce dry ice and liquid carbon dioxide. The 10-million project will create 50 jobs paying an average wage of 15-dollars and 67-cents an hour. Continental Carbonics will construct a 35-thousand square foot building adjacent to the Amaizing Energy ethanol plant. Continental distributes dry ice to food processing, meat and poultry packaging, medical, laboratory and research markets.
The proposed Pinacle Ethanol plant in southern Iowa won tax incentives. Hoffman says it’s an 85-million dollar production facility proposed for Adams County that was awarded Enterprise Zone tax benefits to create 40 jobs at an average wage of 15-dollars and 80-cent an hour. She says Pinnacle will provide a new market for 21 million bushels of corn annually and produce 60 million gallons of ethanol after it opens in 2007.
The Economic Development Board also approved a 63-thousand dollar investment for Frontier, which is headquartered in Norway, Iowa and is one of the nation’s largest processors and marketers of natural and organic herbs, spices and foods. The project adds 30-thousand square feet to Frontier’s manufacturing, distribution and office operations.
C-N-H Global, which is considering Burlington for a four-phase expansion, was awarded 635-thousand in funds and approved for tax benefits if it makes the proposed investments in an enterprise zone. C-N-H would create 127 jobs over a three year period. Part of the Burlington project is the transfer of a New Holland product line from Europe for which Brazil is offering financial incentives in competition with Iowa.
