posted on 1/21/22

Today, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved awards for three companies, which will assist in the creation of 84 jobs and result in $96.3 million in new capital investment for the state. These projects are located in Dubuque and Knoxville. Innovation funding was approved in support of four startups located in Ames, Coralville and Des Moines. The board also approved Butchery Innovation and Revitalization program awards.

Hormel Foods receives assistance for Dubuque facility
Progressive Processing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational meat and food manufacturer Hormel Foods Corporation, produces branded products, including Hormel® Compleats®, SPAM® and Bacon Bits. The company plans to add new equipment to expand the SPAM® product line. The project represents a capital investment of $43 million and was awarded tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program. It is expected to create 38 jobs at a qualifying wage of $21.13 per hour.

Klauer Manufacturing expands operations in Dubuque
Klauer Manufacturing Company, founded in 1870, offers premium sheet metal building products to distributors throughout the country for residential, agricultural and light commercial building markets. The company plans to expand its facility by 73,000 square feet and add new machinery and equipment to accommodate growth. The project represents a capital investment of nearly $14 million and is expected to create 16 jobs at a qualifying wage of $21.13 per hour. The board awarded tax benefits through the HQJ program.

3M Company increases capacity in Knoxville
Starting in 1974, 3M Company’s Knoxville operations serve 13 of the company’s divisions, with the Industrial Adhesives and Tapes Division producing highly tackified acrylate adhesive tapes. The company plans to renovate facility space and add machinery and equipment to expand production capacity. The board awarded this nearly $40 million capital investment project tax benefits through the HQJ program. It is expected to create 30 jobs at a qualifying wage of $23.46 per hour.

Awards made to four startups

Ames-based Providence Data Technologies, doing business as Distynct, provides an internet-based remote monitoring and alarm platform for livestock facilities, which allows producers to optimize personnel by directing them to the most significant problems of the day. This solution helps avoid catastrophic events on farms, ultimately improving performance and mitigating brand risk. The company was awarded a $100,000 Demonstration Fund loan for IP development and evaluation, proof of concept work, product refinement, key personnel, equipment, and construction.

Headquartered in Ames, Sublime Stericeuticals Corporation delivers an efficient and consistent pharmaceutical lyophilization process. The approach to produce freeze-dried drug products offer time and cost efficiencies, as well as a high-quality result due to the closed, sterile environment with their patented Cryophilizer system technology. The company was awarded a $25,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance loan for proof of concept work, product refinement, market planning and entry activities, and equipment.

Coralville’s Firefly Photonics, LLC develops infrared light emitting diode (LED) and photodiode (PD) components, which are used in methane and carbon dioxide gas sensing. The light sources are critical to the success of wireless, battery-powered gas sensors, solving problems with power consumption, turn-on time and maintenance. The company was awarded a $100,000 Demonstration Fund loan for product refinement.

A global provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications in Des Moines, Pitchly offers customers the ability to access, search, edit and share data to fellow employees and connect the data to common work tasks. The software provides significant savings in employee time by automatically updating data to the current version. The company was awarded an Innovation Acceleration Propel Fund loan for product refinement, market planning and entry activities, and key personnel.

Award recommendations for these funds are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

15 businesses receive Butchery Innovation and Revitalization funds
The Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund was designed to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to businesses for projects relating to small-scale meat processing, licensed custom lockers, and mobile slaughter units. The program was created during the 2021 Iowa legislative session and signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds with a $750,000 allocation.

The maximum award amount is $50,000 and no more than 50% of the eligible project expenses may be paid with these grant funds.

By administrative code, an application must score an average of 75 or more to be considered for funding. Fifty-four applications, requesting more than $2.4 million, received an average score of 75 or above. Based on available funding, the IEDA Board awarded 15 applications that received the highest average score. A list of the businesses that were awarded can be found here.