The south-central Iowa town that’s best known for its tulips and a window-making factory is now home to a company that combines agriculture and robotics. Lely Group is based in the Netherlands and the new venture in Pella marks the opening of its first dairy products production facility in North America.

Lely U.S.A. has been based in Pella eight years, but it will now be making cow-milking robots in Iowa with locally-sourced parts. Lely is partnering with another local ag giant, Vermeer Manufacturing, on the production site.

The target customer ranges from family farms up to large-scale dairy herds. Lely expects the expansion to create more than 20 jobs in the first year.