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 Broin Groundbreaking Ceremony Moves Indoors
GOWRIE — Rainy weather and muddy ground didn’t dampen spirits in Gowrie when the Broin Cos. held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 60 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant near the southwest Webster County town.
Ethanol proponents, representatives for state and congressional leaders were on hand alongside Broin CEO Jeff Broin for the ceremony at the Prairie Valley High School gymnasium for the Frontier Ethanol plant. Two mats of artificial turf on the wooden floor afforded the speakers and county development leaders an opportunity to pose with ceremonial shovels."The community response has been excellent,’’ Broin said, adding that the region’s high corn production along with community leadership led Broin to locate the plant near Gowrie.
The plant will be constructed about a 1 1/2 miles north of Gowrie on 320th Street in Webster County. Ellen Huntoon, who attended the ceremony on behalf of Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, pointed to the use by the United States of foreign energy sources as creating a pressing need for ethanol plants like Frontier — a sentiment echoed by many of the other speakers. "The market can’t rely on expensive imports, we need robust fuel standards,’’ said Monte Shaw, Renewable Fuels Association communications director, eliciting applause from the crowd of about 200."We need to be growing our energy in fields of corn in Iowa, not in oil fields in the Middle East,’’ said American Coalition for Ethanol President Brian Jennings.
Others also pointed to the local effects they expect the plant to have.
"This project and other like it affirms Iowa’s position of command in this still burgeoning industry,’’ said Jim Oberhelman, who attended the ceremony on behalf of U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Alexander.
Webster County Development Director James Crean called ethanol a "huge shot in the arm for Iowa. " This is a great project for us, for the entire county and our regional partners.’’ Webster County Supervisor Joel Lizer, who represents the area, said he was glad to be a part of the process, and pointed to the expected rise in regional corn prices as a key benefit from the plant. "Every dollar a farmer makes is more than likely to be spent in the community,’’ Lizer said.
Gowrie Mayor Dick Phillips called the plant "a dream come true.’’ When Sioux Falls Broin Cos. began looking at buying land near Gowrie for a potential ethanol plant a year-and-a-half ago, Phillips wasn’t sure the plant would become a reality. Gowrie Development Commission member Ed McWeeny remembers what Crean said when he brought up the same concern.
"His response to me was ‘Let’s get them both.’’’ McWeeny said. Crean said he has plenty of reason to continue to be optimistic. "The industry itself has a bright future,’’ he said. Jeff Broin hinted at possible developments that go along with research and development the Broin Cos. are conducting. For now, community leaders were happy to see the first step in the construction of the plant — even if the only ground moved Thursday was adhered to a plastic mat.
 Fort Dodge's asset: Its tenacious spirit
Fort Dodge Ia. - This north-central Iowa city's greatest economic strength could be its unwillingness to give up. Nearly two decades ago, two giant meatpacking plants - IBP Inc. and Hormel Foods - closed, with 3,000 job cuts that ripped through the city, said Dennis Plautz, the city's economic development leader. The tally comes from jobs lost at the plants and from companies that provided services and products to the meatpackers. The hit would stagger most cities. Yet, Fort Dodge continues to pull itself up.
"Before we lost the packing plants, we were much more complacent," said Plautz. "We have a brand-new awareness of what working together . . . can accomplish."
Fort Dodge has tenaciously focused on keeping existing industry and helping it expand:
- Fort Dodge Animal Health renewed the city's hope in 1988 when it decided to expand at the deserted Hormel site. Now the animal vaccine manufacturer is one of the city's largest employers, with nearly 900 workers. Over the next five years, it will spend $30 million building a regional distribution center and upgrading its manufacturing and research facilities. The project will free up space for new production.
- City leaders convinced federal trade regulators in 1995 that Nestle Purina PetCare Co. should not be forced to sell its Friskies wet cat food plant in Fort Dodge, despite its market dominance. Production has continued to move to the plant, which recently finished a $12 million upgrade. Nestle employs about 145 workers.
- A Silgan metal can manufacturing plant in Fort Dodge plans a $24 million expansion that will add 32 jobs. The Stamford, Conn.-based company, which supplies cans to the Nestle pet food plant and other clients, now has about
145 workers.
- Decker Truck Line will build a nearly $7 million headquarters and training center this year. Over the past three years, the 74-year-old company has purchased the assets of Umthum Trucking of Eagle Grove and Mickelson Trucking of Mason City. The company employs about 720 employees.
Fort Dodge also is home to Smithway Motor Express, a publicly-traded company that has about 1,000 employees nationwide.
Fort Dodge also has snagged new industry, including:
- A $36 million state prison in 1998 that houses 750 inmates. The correctional facility brought about 358 jobs, with an annual payroll of nearly $22 million. The city won the project over nine other Iowa towns, with incentives such as $500,000 in cash and 60 free acres. Even the city's religious community joined the campaign, offering to provide the prison with services.
- VeraSun Energy, based in Brookings, S.D., is building a $100 million ethanol plant outside of Fort Dodge that will employ around 50 workers. The company will use about 39 million bushels of corn a year and generate 110 million gallons of ethanol. Estimates are that farmers could see 5 to 10 cents more per bushel - up to $4 million - from the added demand.
The city also hopes to land a $50 million casino and hotel project along the Des Moines River. A group of developers, which includes Kehl Management, owner of the Catfish Bend Riverboat Casino in Burlington, has asked state gaming leaders to allow them to build a 90-room hotel and casino with 600 slot machines and 24 table games.The group estimates the Mineral City Hotel and Casino would employ up to 400 workers and generate $40 million in revenue annually.
Plautz and James Crean, executive director of Webster County Development Corp., say the casino and hotel could help Fort Dodge spark development near the Des Moines River and its worn-down downtown a few blocks away.
The city has been buying up land along the river - 33 acres last year - for redevelopment. And it has contracted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create a detailed plan for trails, fishing and other recreational uses along the river. A proposed 3-mile riverfront path would tie to a 17-mile trail that goes to Brushy Creek state park near Duncombe.
Other quality-of-life projects include development this spring of a unique
$4.2 million park for ATV, snowmobile and dirt bike riders. The state park will use land donated by local gypsum companies, which use the mineral to make wallboard and other construction products. Rick Williams, president of the Webster County Wheelers, said the rough terrain is ideal for the off-road trails. The group hopes to open the park with 700 to 1,000 acres and eventually grow to 1,500 acres. Williams said the park will save gypsum companies - longtime employers in Fort Dodge - millions of dollars in costs to restore the mined lands. It also gives riders a safe place to have fun. Within a couple of years, he said, weekend events could bring 20,000 to 30,000 riders from the Midwest to Fort Dodge. The park will be surrounded by a 15-mile fence and patrolled by state park officials, Williams said. "The park will be so vast, riders could camp and ride here a week and never use the same trail."
As Fort Dodge faces the future, one of its the biggest challenges is its rural location. A retail, services and employment hub, Fort Dodge is pulling dollars and labor from a shrinking 11-county area. Fort Dodge has seen its population drop 4,287 residents over two decades to 25,136 in 2000, according to the Census Bureau. The number of Iowans who have moved from the area skyrockets to 30,317 when Fort Dodge's entire trade area is calculated. It includes counties like Humboldt, Calhoun, Sac and Kossuth. The problem shows up in Fort Dodge's retail sales receipts, which have been stagnant since 2000. Annual receipts have hovered around $21 million for the past five years, state records show. Plautz said the population flight is one of the strongest arguments to widen U.S. Highway 20 to four lanes from Fort Dodge to Sioux City. The cost is more than $400 million and is the last stretch to complete the four-lane highway across the state. "Where you see roads, you see growth," Crean said. "We're not asking for handouts. We're just asking that we're allowed to be as competitive as the rest of the state."
Another challenge for Fort Dodge: Its economy is cemented in mature industries - such as pet food and construction materials - that may have limited growth potential. But Crean said it's those industries' willingness to invest in new technology and product development that will enable Fort Dodge to grow. "They're always looking for new ways to do things they do."
Group project
Mayor Will Patterson said he's proud of the creative way the city tackled creating a new senior citizen center downtown. Carpentry students from Iowa Central Community College kicked in free labor, and $1 million in state and federal grants covered most of the center's costs. The new senior campus sits near a $3.3 million senior housing project in a rehabilitated historic building. It was developed by MetroPlains, a St. Paul, Minn., group that's interested in tackling two more housing projects in Fort Dodge. One project would provide housing to residents with developmental disabilities. The other would rehab another empty downtown building.
VeraSun gears up for production
Already, VeraSun Energy has begun buying corn from area farmers, said Pocahontas native Troy Shaner, the plant's new manager. The $100 million Fort Dodge ethanol plant will buy corn from up to 50 miles away, said Matt Janes, VeraSun's chief operating officer. The plant will consume about 100,000 bushels of corn each day. Access to two railroads enables VeraSun to bring corn in from outside the Fort Dodge area if market pressures, such as a drought, require it, he said. Fourteen to 15 rail cars of ethanol will be shipped out daily, Shaner said. It will go to refineries in Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha and Kansas City. A large percentage of the ethanol, which is blended with gasoline, will be used in California and New York markets.
Dennis Plautz, the city's economic development leader, said the city's investment in a new water and sewer line for VeraSun opens hundreds of acres for new development west of Fort Dodge. "We expect to see additional development there," he said.
 Press Release for Chief Industries Project
For more information, contact:
Webster County Development, 515.955.7788
Chief Transportation Products, Inc. to expand in Webster County
Project will create a minimum of 17 new jobs in the County
February 4, 2005 (Fort Dodge, Iowa) – Chief Transportation Products, a Division of Chief Industries, Inc., has announced it’s plans to manufacture the “AnySizer” combination intermodal container chassis at its existing Webster County facility approximately one and a half miles east of the City of Fort Dodge. The project will entail a $500,000 capital upgrade to the facility and the creation of at least 17 new manufacturing jobs in the first 12 months of production with an annual payroll of over $400,000 and benefits.
“Webster County Development was pleased to have the opportunity to work with Chief Industries on this project. They are an outstanding company and will be extremely beneficial to the Webster County economy” said James Crean, Executive Director of Webster County Development “Without the assistance of the Fort Dodge Betterment Foundation, this project would not have been possible” he added. The Company received a $40,000 loan from the Fort Dodge Betterment Foundation to offset costs associated with the extension of a natural gas line that was crucial for the project. “The circumstances associated with this project made the Fort Dodge Betterment Foundation a logical participant. We are excited to step up and help move the Fort Dodge and Webster County economy forward with this project” said Larry Owens, President of the Fort Dodge Betterment Foundation and CEO of Smithway Motor Xpress, Inc.
Previously, Chief Industries had produced grain storage bins at the Webster County facility. However, the technology for that product has been modified and Chief Industries is producing their newer grain storage bins outside of Webster County. That could have meant the closing of Webster County operations for Chief Industries. However, with this project, Chief Industries is expecting to have a strong manufacturing presence in Webster County. “The ‘AnySizer’ is an excellent product and we fully expect it to increase in sales as we increase production”, said Ken Jackson, General Manager of Chief Transportation Products. “Webster County is an excellent fit for this project. It has a business-friendly climate and an outstanding workforce. After working with Webster County Development and the Fort Dodge Betterment Foundation, we feel we can really grow this business in Webster County. Our existing property and facility in Webster County are adequate for us to double our initial production, should the need arise”.
Local elected officials were also very supportive of the Company and the project. “Even though this facility is not geographically located in the City of Fort Dodge, the City is very supportive of this capital investment and the creation of these quality jobs in Webster County. The wages paid to the employees and the services consumed by the Company will add value to our retail trade, school system, housing market and small business service providers in the City of Fort Dodge”, said Fort Dodge Mayor Will Patterson. Floyd Magnussen, Chairman of the Webster County Board of Supervisors was also very supportive. “This project has taken a potentially negative situation which would have been the closing of the facility and provided 17 good paying jobs and given Webster County the opportunity to be the site of future growth for the Company. We are very supportive of this project and appreciative of Chief Industries for their expansion.”
Chief Industries, Inc., now in its 50th year, operates 18 divisions and subsidiaries around the globe. With over 1500 employees and 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing facilities, Chief Industries specializes in high quality manufacturing products supported by industry leading customer service. Headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska, Chief fabricates steel products, manufactures factory homes and recreational vehicles and processes and markets fuel grade ethanol. Steel products include pre-engineered metal buildings, grain storage, handling and conditioning equipment, correctional products, railcar parts, intermodal chassis, waste-water treatment facilities and electronic sign message centers. Additionally, it operates two design build general contracting operations and operates an over-the-road flat bed trucking company. Manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in Grand Island, Aurora, Kearney, Hastings, York, Ogallala and Omaha, Nebraska; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Rensselaer, Indiana; Russell, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Aurora, Colorado; Janesville, Wisconsin; Malden, Essex, England and Rousies, France.
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