A big announcement for southeast Iowa. A company that makes the huge towers for wind turbines plans to build a plant in Keokuk. Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel says it’s "incredible news" for Keokuk and the surrounding area.
"It’s going to create approximately 350-plus very, very well-paid, skilled positions for Keokuk," the mayor says. "Truly, we feel this is just the tip of the iceberg for value-added industries that will come and participate in the economy of southeast Iowa."
Executives at Hendricks Industries says once their plant is up and running, the company’s production of wind turbine towers will triple by 2020. Hendricks has been making wind turbine towers since 1982. The towers to be made at the plant in Keokuk will stand 260 feet tall and will weigh about 80 tons.
Hendricks Industries plans to invest 34-million dollars in the plant and the new port terminal along the Mississippi. "This is just fantastic news for Keokuk. We have always been an industrial town…but we have had our difficult times," the mayor says. "…This is just one huge, huge shot in the arm." The towers that’ll be built in Keokuk will support the wind turbine blades that are to be made at the Seimens plant just up the road in Fort Madison.