Progress 2020 - Cedar Valley Living Large

PROGRESS 2020

Living Large

Cedar Valley

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS • 5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT • STAYING POWER Waterloo XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

|

www.wcfcourier.com/progress

| Cedar Falls XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2020 1

STRONGER TOGETHER Here for you, your business & the Cedar Valley community.

FIND BUSINESS & COMMUNITY RESOURCES AT GROWCEDARVALLEY.COM

CONTENTS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Progress 2020 is a publication of

Deere fires up Foundry work

4

Deere’s Waterloo manager excited to be back

6

BCI’s new digs complete the package

8

Advanced Heat Treat a leader in its field

11

Aveka expands its Fredericksburg plant

14

CPM a global presence with local roots

16

PROJECT MANAGER & AD SALES Sheila Kerns

VGM ‘triples down’ on local jobs

20

Help wanted: Grow Cedar Valley labors to grow workforce

23

EDITOR Nancy Newhoff

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT Grow with what you know

24

CF grows from downtown to industrial park

25

Buchanan County bucking rural brain drain

26

Small-town living spurs growth in Hudson

27

Groundbreaking growth projected for Waverly

28

CAPS gives students real-world skills

29

GENERAL MANAGER & VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES David Adams

SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR Melody Parker Progress is published annually by The Courier and may be contacted at: 100 E. Fourth St., P.O. Box 540, Waterloo, IA, 50704.

Copyright, Progress 2020 All rights reserved Reproduction or use of editorial, photographic or graphic content without permission is prohibited.

STAYING POWER Early Founders help students launch businesses

30

Investors breathe life into historic buildings

32

Health care CEOs talk successes, challenges

33

Cedar Valley housing market heats up

34

HCC health care apprenticeships pay off

35

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 3

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

DEERE

FIRES UP FOUNDRY WORK Company continues to invest millions into its Cedar Valley operations PAT KINNEY For the Courier

I KELLY WENZEL PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Core Room operator, Shihani Wallace, is dipping a core in a ceramic heat resistant solution to prevent iron penetration, also known as burn it at the John Deere Foundry on Jan. 15, 2020.

4 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

t’s been a long journey from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the floor of John Deere’s Waterloo Foundry for Shihani Wallace. But it’s a good place to be.

And Waterloo continues to be a good place for John Deere, as it continues to invest millions into its Waterloo operations and employs 5,000 people, drawing workers from the Cedar Valley and beyond, like Wallace. He had already relocated to the area before being hired at Deere.

“I went to college at Upper Iowa (University) and then I came here,” said Wallace, who’s worked at the foundry eight years. He played football at Upper

Iowa University.

“I started off at Rockwell in Sumner, and they ended up closing down, and I was in need of a job” — just as he and his wife were expecting their first child. “We just job searched. My wife’s grandfather actually used to work here back in the ’70s, ’80s, so he recommended I apply here.”

It was the right decision for him and his family.

“It’s great. It’s fun,” he said. “The people here are nice to be around. It’s a family atmosphere.” He and his wife have two boys, ages 9 and 4, and live in La Porte City.

His goal, he said, is “hopefully, moving up the ranks to a salaried position.”

The camaraderie Wallace has expe-

John Deere Foundry on Jan. 15, 2020.

804 Operator, Zach Schmidt, blows out the pattern to prevent sand holes and defects at the John Deere Foundry on Jan. 15, 2020.

rienced is essential. Deere is the only large agricultural manufacturer with its own foundry in the U.S., manufacturing castings for the Waterloo operations and companywide. It’s a a big operation and requires a lot of teamwork.

“I’m the quality guy, the liaison between different departments,” said Robert Bradley of Allison, who’s worked for Deere 15 years. While foundry work was looked on as grueling and undesirable decades ago, “I don’t plan on leaving the foundry. I don’t have any intention to leave here. I like it. And proud. My main goal is to make sure we do well.” He previously worked at Schumacher Elevator in Denver.

“Some of our best ideas for efficiency improvements come from the wage folks on the floor,” said Travis Weepie, a manufacturing engineering supervisor and a product of Wapsie Valley High School in Fairbank. “That’s our best resource.”

The coordination within the foundry is typical of the coordination between and improvements to Deere’s various plants throughout the metro area, Waterloo factory manager Becky Guinn said.

At Deere’s Tractor Cab Assembly Operations plant on East Donald Street, “We just completed limited production build for our new 8R and 7R tractors, and it went really well,” she said. “Start of production is in April. We’ve very confident of the manufacturing processes. We’ll ramp down production on the current model and start production on the 8R and 7R.” Over the course of a little more than five months, 124,000 square feet — about two football fields — of TCAO factory floor space faced a complete transformation from the ground up.

Plant manufacturing engineers split the combined 7R/8R line into two separate lines during the first half of 2019 to increase the flexibility of each line’s capacity. To make room for those lines, production of the company’s 6000 tractors was moved to Germany but parts for those tractors are still made here.

The split has made room for both the new MY20 7R tractor and the new edition to the 8R family of tractors, the 8RX. Both were released to the public last fall.

“A significant amount of investments have been made as part of that,” she said. They are some of the highest technology tractors ever built, “so we want to make sure we have that same level of technology into our manufacturing processes.”

Deere has invested $2 billion in its Waterloo operations since a massive redevelopment of its facilities was announced in 2000. In addition to the recent Donald Street facility improvements, more recent work has been done at the foundry over the past decade.

Among the most recent foundry improvements, “we spent millions of dollars on the air quality,” said Dave Davis, manager of foundry operations. You won’t see it, but that’s where a big investment was.”

Other foundry investments included new switch gear equipment; two new charge cranes at $1 million dollars each, a 3-D sand printer was installed to make foundry molds to prototype parts faster and, currently, a metal scrap recycling center.

“I doubt that you’ll see this stuff, but there’s huge investments that have been made to keep us

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 5

Deere’s Waterloo manager excited to be back PAT KINNEY For the Courier‌

COURIER FILE PHOTO‌

An overview of the John Deere Foundry on Jan. 15, 2020. competitive and give us the infrastructure to be successful,” Davis said. It’s in addition to a new mold line and furnaces installed over the past couple of years. “We’ve also put robots on the furnaces in the last two years. Big investments here” — about $200 million in the Foundry alone.

“The quality coming out of here is significantly better than it was two years ago also,” Davis said. “Very engaged workforce, making sure we’re leveraging quality for customers.

We’re supporting the whole Deere enterprise,” with increased production capacity. “We’re making 50% more castings in the same number of work hours. So we have more capacity to bring more work in, which, again, helps with our competitive position.”

“Even with the economic outlook being fairly uncertain and really flat, the research and development investment continues to be at the same historic levels it’s been in the past,” Guinn said. “Tractors continue to be a key strategy for the company to make those investments.” The company has received recent industry awards for its technical innovations.

While employment has remained steady, Guinn and Davis said there has been about 100 new hires. “We’ve been successful recruiting from this area. We’ve not had to go outside the area, other than for skilled trades,” Davis said.

“The number of people we have to screen and interview to make a hire is getting higher. It’s getting tougher.”

To maintain and improve those workforce capabilities, Guinn also said the Waterloo operations, following a model in the Quad Cities, has been partnering with the Waterloo Schools career center in offering computerized numerical control machining apprenticeships.

“That is just starting,” she said. It’s “allowing us to be able to connect with the community and get some messages about manufacturing and the environment and opportunities that we can provide for people to come work here.”

It’s being done in the skilled trades as well.

Hawkeye Community College also is working with Deere on apprenticeship programs, and Deere is offering employment opportunities to University of Northern Iowa industrial technology students.

6 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

“A lot of part-time students come out of UNI, and a lot of those transition into full-time roles within the company,” Guiinn said. “As they’re trying to make a multi-million-dollar investment into their industrial tech program, we’re very much in support of that, to continue to grow the talent. Because then you get the local talent in. They like to stay here. And it’s part of what’s made Deere successful here over the last 100 years.” Deere also works with UNI Metal Casting Center at the Cedar Valley TechWorks complex.

Ninety percent of the Deere’s Waterloo production work force has been hired since 1997, when a milestone labor agreement was struck with the United Auto Workers, and half of those within the last five to seven years, Davis suggested. Guinn suggested Waterloo and the Cedar Valley has responded with innovations to make the community an attractive place to live and work.

“To see the vision they laid out in Waterloo 10 years ago from the development perspective and see what it’s transformed into,” with the Cedar Valley SportsPlex and downtown housing, restaurants and amenities, is impressive, she said. “And it’s even more awesome to see where they want to go. The urban feel they’re trying to bring (downtown) is a great recruiting tool for us as well.”

“The overall quality of the tractors we’re producing are at the best levels we’ve ever had,” Guinn said. “There’s been a lot of work and a strong commitment to our customers with all the investments that we’ve made.”

And Deere and its employees are, in turn, personally reinvesting in the community.

The John Deere Foundation has invested $1.5 million each in the Cedar Valley United Way and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank over three years. Additionally wage and salaried employees contributed over $900,000 in personal contributions to United Way. “We’re also kicking off ‘Waterloo 100,’” Guinn said, an initiative to get 100% of local Deere workers volunteering in the community in some capacity. “It’s an important part of what we do for both employee engagement, and to continue to make the Valley one of the best places to live and work.” Workers logged more than 26,000 volunteer hours last year.

‌WATERLOO — John Deere has a new factory manager for its Waterloo Works. She’s no stranger to Deere or the Cedar Valley.

But she is the first woman to hold the post, the latest of several posts of increasing responsibility.

Becky Guinn, a 28-year career Deere executive who previously worked at the Waterloo operation in the mid-2000s, took the reins last fall at Waterloo Deere’s largest North American manufacturing complex. She succeeded Dave DeVault following his retirement.

Guinn, a native of Kansas and a mechanical engineering graduate of Kansas State University, said Deere has supported her and many other women in their career climbs.

She was hired as an intern at the Des Moines Works in Ankeny and spent 14 years there in manufacturing engineering and supply management. The return to Waterloo brings her full circle in many ways.

“I came here in 2006 as a business unit manager out at TCAO (Tractor Cab Assembly Operations, on East Donald Street),” Guinn said. “The first time I came to Waterloo, I put my son in kindergarten.” And now, she said, “I just dropped him off at college at Iowa State. It’s amazing how quick that goes.”

She spent three years in her first stint in Waterloo. Then she moved into a manufacturing engineering director’s position based out of the Quad Cities, “trying to connect over 70 factories around the world around our manufacturing engineering competency and processes and development there.”

Then she took a position in Germany, responsible for the design and sub-assembly of farm equipment operator cabs.

“I took my third- and fifth-grader to Europe. We lived over there for more than two years. It was a good experience, getting exposed to a different culture, language,” she said.

Most recently, she was back at Moline, Ill., as seeding and tillage platform director, responsible for 10 manufacturing locations around the world, also serving in that capacity during some acquisitions of additional facilities. She returned to Waterloo in September.

“My first experience in Waterloo was amazing, from both a work and community perspective,” she said. “It’s always been one of my favorite places to work. It’s awesome to be part of Waterloo and part of the tractor business. The caliber of people who work here

are amazing. The products that we make here are the best in the world. It’s an exciting time to be here, as you think about the new next generation of tractors we’re starting to launch this spring.

I’m looking forward to being part of that.”

Her son is now a freshman at ISU and her daughter is a high school junior who will complete her secondary education at Bettendorf. Her husband, Dustin, is employed by Plumb Supply in sales, working in the Quad Cities until their daughter graduates from high school.

“We’ve moved around six times already,” she said. “Little bit of the ‘John Deere gypsy tour.’

It’s been awesome for us as a family. Every time we move it brings us closer together.”

She noted that while she is the first woman to hold her current position, there are several women in management positions within Deere in Waterloo.

“I’ve had amazing opportunities to experience the different functions and roles. In Des Moines it was a very diverse workforce and I had a great peer group,” she said.” When I came to Waterloo (in 2006) it was amazing, and probably one of the best peer groups, environments to work in in the company. When I was a business unit manager here, there were actually two other women who were business unit managers in TCAO. It was more about making sure we were running the factory and focused on delivering those results.

“And then I had amazing opportunities to build global relationships around the world,” she

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Becky Guinn, Waterloo Works Factory Manager, stands in the John Deere Foundry on Jan. 15, 2020. said. “So I don’t think that it’s any different than anyone else that’s lived in different locations and different countries — and gotten to know the caliber of people who work for this company.”

And as she re-acquaints herself with Water-

These words are still our driving force today. We are constantly refining, enhancing, and improving our large tractors and technologies for unsurpassed performance that pays. With the best technologies, the best processes, and the best people all devoted to meeting and exceeding industry’s highest standards.

loo Works employees, she noted she has another common thread that can serve as an icebreaker for discussion — the new football coach at her alma mater, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, who is a product of Waterloo Columbus High School.

www.JohnDeere.com www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 7

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

BCI’s new CF digs the

COMPLETE

PACKAGE

New facility on 16 acres in Cedar Falls Industrial Park fuels workforce growth MELODY PARKER melody.parker@wcfcourier.com

CEDAR FALLS – BCI Cedar Falls Division relocated its operations last summer into a new 177,000-square-foot facility at 2900 Capital Way, located in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

The move expands the company’s footprint as the Midwest’s premier packaging provider, adding new state-of-the-art machinery to increase and refine production capabilities, as well as boosting morale and pride for a highly skilled staff in sales, design and production, said Matt Highland, division president.

“We have exciting potential, and we are well-positioned for future expansion. BCI

KELLY WENZEL PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dylan Hare collects boxes to be bundled off a new die-cutting machine at BCI Cedar Falls Division.

8 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

has invested in new technology and machinery that we couldn’t accommodate in our old building. Now we have the space to invest in equipment and more people,” Highland explained.

Two years ago, the company had 40 employees; now there are 67. “We have 42 people on the main production floor; over half of them are new hires. It’s an employee-owned business, so we have a culture of ownership, profit sharing and pride. Employees can truly improve their standard of living with what they do every day,” Highland explained.

Buckeye Corrugated Inc. Cedar Falls Division, formerly BCI Hawkeye Division, was founded in Cedar Falls in 1967 as Hawkeye Corrugated Box. The company was purchased in 2009 by Buckeye Corrugated Inc., of Akron, Ohio. The new facility replaces a 62,000-square-foot site on Ida Street that was about 50 years old.

“We were landlocked, and there was no space for expansion,” said Highland, who has been with the company for about 30 years. BCI decided to build its new modern building on a 16-acre tract of land in the Industrial Park. The project took 15 months.

BCI designs, prints and manufactures boxes from sheets of corrugated cardboard.

But that doesn’t begin to describe the company’s expertise in tailoring unique, attractive and safe shipping solutions for its customers. Those customers range from one-person operations to Fortune 500 companies in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“There has been so much consolidation in the corrugated box business but we still serve the small and medium customers, as well as large clients. If you start a product in your basement and need 10 boxes, we can do that, as well as work with clients who need hundreds and hundreds of boxes,” said Highland. Additionally, the new building offers space to store volume orders for customers.

Business has more than doubled in the last 10 years in what BCI sells and the volume manufactured, he noted. Five years ago, BCI made a “strategic move to secure opportunities in point-of-purchase displays,” particularly in the food and beverage industry. “We went out and landed Hormel Foods and Omaha Steaks. Putting pizzazz on boxes with graphics represents 20% of our growth, and it continues to increase.”

BCI works with clients to design, produce, pack and manage point-of-purchase displays for grocery and convenience stores and other retailers where the displays are used as merchandising tools for products.

Online shopping represents the biggest

Division President Matt Highland stands above the production floor in the new 177-square-foot BCI-Cedar Falls Division facility in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

Although the signage at the new facility reads BCI-Hawkeye Division, the company’s new designation within the Buckeye Corrugated Inc., family is BCI-Cedar Falls Division.

BELOW: A view of the new production floor at BCI Cedar Falls Division. Five new stateof-the-art machines were added to the company’s older equipment when the move was made last summer.

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 9

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Nick Wilson test-folds a box as part of quality control standards at BCI Cedar Falls Division. area for potential growth, Highland said.

“E-commerce means many brands don’t have traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

The shipping box that arrives at someone’s front door is the company’s storefront. The box is the first impression of the company’s brand, and BCI can design unique boxes with cool graphics to show that brand.”

Graphics designers at BCI think outside the box — and inside the box — to create unique designs within specifications that command attention in shipping and displaying products using CAD, or computer-aided design, and Photoshop. Prototypes also are made to test and perfect designs.

Beyond aesthetics, the boxes must have structural integrity to maintain shape and function. BCI can print graphics directly on corrugated sheets or apply label graphics.

The company’s older machines were installed on the production floor, along with five new state-of-the-art machines. The new equipment includes two new computerized, precision die-cutting machines — one is a high-speed rotary die-cutter, and the second is a flat-bed die-cutter for smaller, unique box designs. Both machines automatically feed cardboard sheets, ending the need for a person to physically heft stacks of cardboard onto a conveyor.

“We moved those people to more valuable positions in the company,” Highland said. “It’s technology and computers vs. physical labor. When we’re hiring, it’s easier to attract people if they know they’re going to be using a computer.”

The die-cutters automatically collect

10 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Ryan Valenzuela checks over the design and graphics on a box as it comes out of a die-cutting machine at BCI Cedar Falls Division. and bale scrap cardboard for recycling.

“One trailer-load of scraps leaves here every day for a Cedar Rapids mill where it is recycled, re-pulped and milled into sheets. We also use water-based inks for printing graphics,” Highland explained.

BCI can print up to seven colors and coating in one pass directly onto corrugated sheets, as well as provide litho-laminated packaging and expertise at folding and gluing complex boxes and point-ofpurchase displays.

Sustainability has been part of the corrugated box manufacturing business for more than 100 years, including reforestation. “We haven’t just jumped on the sustainability bandwagon. Our business

makes sustainable boxes that contain 50% recycled content. Virgin fiber is added for strength.”

Five in-bound trucks arrive daily with raw materials. An automated rail system loads and transports finished box stacks to appropriate areas for storage or shipping in the production facility. Highland said 10 to 11 trucks are outbound with finished products each day.

“When we’re courting new business, we can bring people into this new facility to show prospective customers what we do. This facility makes us more competitive in the marketplace, and we have the huge advantage of a new facility with wow factor.”

ADVANCED HEAT TREAT

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

A LEADER IN ITS FIELD Focus, adaptability are keys to success after 40 years

AMIE RIVERS amie.rivers@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO — Deciding to leave his full-time job at John Deere, where he’d worked for 15 years, wasn’t easy. But Gary Sharp and a few others had been pouring all of their nights, weekends, vacation time and holidays into building Advanced Heat Treat Corp.

“The writing was on the wall. I felt we had some opportunity,” Sharp said. “My dad thought I was nuts to leave a good position there.”

Nearly 40 years later, Advanced Heat Treat has grown into one of the top heat treatment companies in the world, employing 165 people in three locations across the country (and, Sharp said, potentially a future fourth), as well as staying up-todate with the technology over the years.

Maybe the leap wasn’t so nuts after all.

“I wish I could say I had this plotted out,” Sharp said of Advanced Heat Treat’s ascent. “But things change, and you need to be able to change and react to opportunity. That’s kind of how we are.”

Sharp, who continues to helm Waterloo-based Advanced Heat Treat as its chief executive officer since founding the company in 1981, credits a lot of the company’s success to its ability to change, or pivot, depending on what the customer needs as well as where the technology is going.

When he first started, he remembers finding out a piece of equipment was missing crucial elements of its technology — basically, it didn’t work.

“Instead of heat-treating the parts, we were melting them. Our customers didn’t like that,” Sharp deadpanned.

Instead of throwing in the towel, he stayed firm, knowing the technology

“offered some real advantages” over his competitors, and eventually got it to work.

“Again, we continued to pursue that path and stay focused, and a lot of good people over the years helped us get to where we are today,” he said.

But when the path grew narrow or came to a dead end, Advanced Heat Treat has pivoted. When older heat treatments fell out of favor or became streamlined by the company’s competitors, Sharp guided his team to learn newer technologies to stay ahead of the curve, and backed it up with new machines and expanding production facilities — all with an eye on the customer.

“It’s kind of our mantra: If you’re not going forward, then you’re going to fall backwards,” Sharp said. “I don’t think we can tread water.”

Sharp credits a lot of his company’s success over the years to his employees, and

Tyler Moulds, left, and John Damme wipe down finished parts at Advanced Heat Treat in Waterloo on Feb. 21, 2020.

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 11

credits his “great” human resources department with helping screen, train and manage employees.

“Early on, the technology was not known to too many people, so all our training was internal — we would find people that really had a good attitude and train them,” Sharp said. “We can’t bring somebody in that has a super understanding of ion nitriding, but we can make sure they have the right attitude and willingness to learn. It’s just amazing to me how quick some of (the employees) can pick up some of this.”

Talking about a former maintenance worker who had since died, Sharp got emotional.

“They’re just tremendous,” he said of his workers.

“And we still continue to have people following in that same path.”

Sharp’s attitude toward his employees hasn’t gone unnoticed: Advanced Heat Treat has won awards from The Courier and others in recent years for their friendly business atmosphere, including Employer of Choice, Business of the Year and Family Business of the Year.

If there’s one overall key to his success, he said, that would be it.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got great people that care — not only about our customers, but about what they do and how they do it,” he said.

BRANDON POLLOCK COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Feed screws undergo ion nitriding at Advanced Heat Treat in Waterloo on Feb. 21, 2020.

BRANDON POLLOCK COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

L-R: Dan Sager, Assistant Operations Manager, Mikel Woods, President, and John Ludeman, Director of Metallurgy and Quality Excellence of Advanced Heat Treat in Waterloo on Feb. 21, 2020.

12 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

Check out our interactive gallery See all our Niche publications at: WCFCourier.com bookshelf

HOME& w weddings eddings GARDEN wcfcourier.com/weddings

A publication of Courier Communications

CEDAR VALLEY

Fall Fall 2019

I O W A' S P R E M I E R H O M E M A G A Z I N E

Reception hall directory

Color

Happily

eveverer after after

trends British invasion Escape to the home show

EXPLORE

stunning new and remodeled home projects by the area’s fine builders and interior designers

2020 VISION

Comfort food classics, cherry chip cake & late-night snack hacks

Fall 2019 cvgalleryofhomes.com A PRODUCT OF IOWA’S PREMIERE HOME MAGAZINE, CV HOME & GARDEN XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gowns to love, color trends to watch

18

INSIDER TIPS FOR STRESS-FREE DA Y DAY

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019 2019 1

SPRING 2020 | CV-HG.COM

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 1

InclUSion CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN THE CEDAR VALLEY

Spotlighting the 2019 Courier

WINNERS SPRING | SUMMER 2019

November 2019

cvbusinessmonthly.com

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2019 1

For more information contact: Sheila Kerns 319-291-1448 or sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 13

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Aveka

expands its Fredericksburg plant Drying experts honored with Iowa Venture Award ANDREW WIND andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com

FREDERICKSBURG — Shain Kroenecke is used to getting calls from people looking for immediate help with drying truckloads of all sorts of materials.

The Aveka Manufacturing general manager and his 80 employees can usually handle those requests in a timely manner, either through existing processes at the plant or with the design help of its three-member engineering staff. Often the turnaround for such out-of-the-blue calls may be two weeks.

“We kind of pride ourselves in that,” said Kroenecke, a 21-year employee of the company. “It’s one of our taglines, that we’re fast and flexible.”

But when he recently got a call asking the company to dry 400,000 pounds of used coffee grounds within the week, it was a bit much. The prospective client got the grounds from a coffee manufacturer in Indiana to use in an animal bedding product. Kroenecke took the job with the company doing as much of the work as it could in the first week and finishing the rest in the next two weeks.

“We’re a particle processor,” he explained. That usually means working with materials made up of small components which arrive at the plant as semi-solids or wet cake.

Two of the company’s processing 14 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

ABOVE: Shain Kroenecke, Aveka general manager, stands over a vat of walnut grit, a product that the company washes and desalinates, on Feb. 5, 2020.

LEFT: This spray drier is one of the main tools Aveka Manufacturing uses in processing its products.

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Employees get tested and fitted for respirators at Aveka Manufacturing on Feb. 5. techniques involve spray driers and fluid bed driers. “Spray-drying is the bulk of our business,” said Kroenecke.

The materials are dried in big stainless steel tanks to the desired moisture content and sometimes milled and packaged.

About 90% of what the company produces is “mixed with something else further down the line,” he noted. “It’s still an ingredient.”

Aveka’s ingredients are used in a range of products for the agricultural, pharmaceutical and food industries – among others. The company provides contract manufacturing to more than 100 customers over the course of a year.

Making yeast for bread production and other purposes, such as ethanol, is a major part of its business. Materials used in variety of products such as deodorant, sandpaper, sandblasters, water and alcohol filters, and filters for swimming pools are also manufactured in the Fredericksburg plant.

Business has been booming so much that the company recently completed a $2.6 million 45,000-square-foot warehouse addition. Plans are in the works to further expand on nearby land for a new production space.

That got the attention of the Iowa Area Development Group, which honored Aveka with its 2019 Iowa Venture Award in December. The eight awardees were honored on behalf of Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities and independent telecommunication companies that the development group works with. Aveka was nominated by the Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative.

Rand Fisher, IADG president, praised the Minnesota-based company which has a total of 280 employees at five sites, also including Cresco and Waukon in Iowa.

“The award celebrates investment, job creation, innovation and civic leadership,” he noted. “Aveka was honored on the oc-

Tyler Boehmer, left, and Dave Murphy repackage a product at Aveka Manufacturing on Feb. 5, 2020.

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Jim Beaner works in packaging at Aveka Manufacturing on Feb. 5, 2020. casion of its 25th anniversary and, in particular, for the $2.6 million investment in the warehousing and distribution building that was added to their facilities in Fredericksburg.”

“Currently, we’re about 166,000 square feet,” said Kroenecke. Before the addition, the plant’s facilities were “completely full,” he noted. The available space “just wasn’t allowing us to develop any other processing areas.”

The addition has freed up space for 10 new processing suites. “It’s going to let us grow our processes inside the plant or expand on them,” said Kroenecke.

Fisher cited the research and development done at the facility. “Their innovation and tenacity has continued to build opportunity for the company” and the surrounding community, he said.

In addition, the company’s recent transition to employee ownership, generous

support of community events and activities, and encouragement of worker involvement in civic organizations were important factors in winning the award. Fisher noted that such civic involvement is exemplified in Kroenecke’s four-year stint as mayor of Fredericksburg, which he finished at the end of December.

“That’s pretty much the spirit and flavor of our award and why Aveka rose to the top,” he said.

Kroenecke believes the Fredericksburg plant is pretty attractive for those who want to get involved in advanced manufacturing.

“A kid can graduate high school and start here at $16 an hour,” he noted, receiving benefits and getting vested in a pension fund. Further training and education is also encouraged, with assistance available from the company.

“Not a bad thing for a little town,” said Kroenecke.

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 15

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Craig Boleyn welds at CPM Roskamp Champion in Waterloo on Feb. 20, 2020.

CPM a global presence with

LOCAL ROOTS

KARRIS GOLDEN For the Courier

WATERLOO — Industry insiders view CPM Holdings Inc. as a global force in agriculture and fuel.

“The company has virtually cornered the market on all types of processing equipment to grind, crush, crumble, break, flake, hully, hammer, shred, condition, pellet and cool practically anything,” noted a 2019 Biomass Magazine feature. “(CPM) sells and services machinery and

16 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

equipment to the animal feed, oilseed processing, corn wet milling, pet food, ethanol and … wood pellet industries.”

The list of CPM’s offerings goes on, encompassing bioenergy, food and more. With its vast portfolio and international acclaim, some wonder how the Cedar Valley became the company’s corporate and global headquarters.

Several factors positioned the metro area for the designation, said Kyle Roed, CPM Holdings

human resources director.

“Waterloo-Cedar Falls is kind of the heart and soul,” said Roed.

“We’ve had dramatic growth the past several years, and we’ve still retained our heritage and where we come from. It’s in our DNA.” Leadership was a contributing factor. Ted Waitman of Waverly, now retired CEO and president, positioned the Cedar Valley in the CPM driver’s seat, said Roed.

“Ted set the tone. … He provided the vision to make the company what it is today by aligning

the various product offerings in a way that ensures success in multiple markets,” Roed explained.

“Culturally, we don’t brag, but we have a lot of pride in our employees. Our people do a lot of interesting, important work, and they balance that with an understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture.”

In addition, the metro area has an international reputation for offering an exceptionally skilled and experienced workforce, Roed added.

“The benefits of being in Waterloo is that there is really strong manufacturing talent here,” he said. “We’re centrally located —- ideally located —regardless of where our customers are. The work ethic of the people in the area make this a logical choice, too.”

However, CPM first planted roots in northern California, not Iowa. In 1883, a predecessor company manufactured grape presses, crushers and stemmers in San Francisco. These machines helped spur large scale production for Napa Valley wineries.

In 1931, the company opted to diversify its product offerings by building a pellet mill. The ma-

chine instigated a new business name: California Pellet Mill.

The company went on to develop additional pellet mill models and improvements. Pellet milling proved so important that “CPM” is a nod to that legacy, said Roed.

These successes undergirded continuing efforts to adapt to consumers’ growing and evolving needs. The 1970s and ‘80s brought several acquisitions, expanding product lines and adding new locations in the United States, Amsterdam and Singapore.

In 1987, CPM acquired Roskamp Mfg. and established the company’s local presence, Roed explained. CPM contin-

ued its geographic expansion, too, adding sites in the United States, South America, China and Europe.

This focused growth laid the groundwork for CPM’s current business verticals, said Roed.

Stated succinctly, the company’s efforts drive food and fuel production, he explained.

In broader terms, CPM’s 1,300 employees at 26 locations in 11 countries manufacture and create everything from machinery, goods, tools and technology for myriad industries and a broad array of applications, uses and functions.

“I think the exciting thing for our company is that we are tied to industries that are only going

to grow,” said Roed. “As long as the population grows, we’re going to continue to grow.”

CPM manages its vast product lines and large, distributed network of locations and employees differently from comparably sized companies.

“We’re fairly decentralized in terms of corporate oversight,” he said. “We collaborate on a high level and handle a lot through technology, … but we don’t have a ton of meetings.”

These practices were established by Waitman, who retired in 2019.

Ted always fostered a very independent philosophy, empowered his managers to make decisions,” said Roed. “That

KELLY WENZEL PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Lyle Pakala reassembles a barring for a flaker at CPM Roskamp Champion in Waterloo.

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 17

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Hog feed is turned into pellets at CPM Roskamp Champion in Waterloo. culture still exists, and it created a really self-reliant team.”

Overall, the company’s array of machinery, products and services are used by more than 3,000 current customers.

The result is the opportunity to have a large, positive impact, said Roed. One such area is CPM’s recycling products and services. This includes plastic and rubber recycling and production of renewable diesel, biodiesel and biomass.

“There’s solid fuel-pelleting, too, which is taking biowaste, compressing it into pellets and

18 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

burning it as fuel,” Roed explained. “The (European Union) is heavily into solid fuel-pelleting. It’s popular in Sweden; that’s how they dispose of their trash, because they don’t have space for landfills.”

CPM’s varied approach to multiple markets can be seen within operations at a single location.

At Roskamp Champion in Waterloo, staff produce material grinding and preparation equipment for oilseed; animal feed; ethanol; conditioners and coolants; biomass; chemi-

cals; waste recovery; and more.

This includes building Roskamp and Champion particle size-reduction machinery, or grain “flakers.”

The metro area also boasts CPM’s product lab, said Roed.

“Our test lab in Waterloo is a destination for a lot of customers, because of the opportunity to bring them in and show them a lot of our processes and products,” said Roed.

CPM’s reputation aids in recruiting top talent, he added.

Regional recruiters serve designated locations, with methods

varying depending on the needs of a particular site. Many rely on referrals and word of mouth references from existing employees.

Iowa State University in Ames is one of the company’s biggest networks for new employees, Roed said.

“We feel like we’re a family company,” he explained. “Despite our size, we’re still very agile. People are empowered to lead and make decisions … and avoid creating bottlenecks. We still very much have the feel of a small business.”

SERVING THE CEDAR VALLEY FOR 30 YEARS! Institute for Decision Making ∙ UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center ∙ Iowa Waste Reduction Center ∙ Strategic Marketing Services Center for Business Growth and Innovation ∙ Advance Iowa ∙ Small Business Development Center ∙ Metal Casting Center ∙ Tallgrass Prairie Center Center for Energy & Environmental Education ∙ Geoinfomatics Training, Research, Education & Extension ∙ Recycling & Reuse Technology Transfer Center

bcs.uni.edu

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 19

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

VGM Group ‘triples down’

LOCAL JOBS Company plans to hire 600 workers over next 4 years PAT KINNEY For the Courier

WATERLOO — One of the Cedar Valley’s largest employers plans to “triple down” on hiring over the next few years.

The VGM Group has added a net 200 employees over the past four years. It figures to hire three times that many — more than 600 — over the next four years, company chief executive officer Mike Mallaro said.

If that pace holds, VGM will have dou-

VGM COURTESY PHOTO

bled its employment in nine years, from 2015 to 2024.

Currently about 1,050 people work for the Waterloo-headquartered medical equipment brokerage and professional services business, founded in 1986 by the late Van G Miller. “Our plan is to be over 1,600 employees by the end of 2024,” Mallaro said, as business volume is expected to double over that time.

Of the existing workforce, “90% of those employees are Iowans,” Mallaro

said, and he doesn’t see that demographic changing. Most of them work in the Cedar Valley — either at the company’s home office complex, jokingly referred to for years as its “galactic headquarters” at Ansborough Avenue and San Marnan Drive, or at two annex locations near Crossroads Center. A smaller number work from home around the area. The company has grown from Miller’s original 1,500-squarefoot building on West Fifth Street to 350,000 square feet under roof in town.

PAT KINNEY PHOTOS, FOR THE COURIER‌

Mike Mallaro, chief executive officer of the VGM Group, stands in a hallway outlining company principles emphasizing individual performance.

Cedar Rapids native Jacklyn Gudenkauf, right, a health and wellness trainer at the VGM Group, coaches fellow employee Brittany Nelson of Dunkerton during a workout.

PAT KINNEY, FOR THE COURIER‌

VGM Group employees Eugene Barnes, a Chicago native, and Danielle Weber, of Waterloo, chat during a break at a coffee nook in VGM company headquarters.

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 21

COURTESY PHOTO‌

VGM ESOP cookout.

More than 200,000 of it is at Ansborough Avenue and San Marnan Drive, where an 83,000-square-foot, $23 million expansion was completed in 2017.

A younger work force flowed into those new digs as VGM tries to do its part to stem the tide of young people migrating out of the area. “Sixty percent of our people are under 40,” Mallaro said. “Definitely, the company’s gotten younger. There’s retirees, and a lot of folks you’re going to hire are younger.

“That leads to other things,” he said. “We had a baby boom, like 60 babies born last year. We’ll probably have another 60 born this year. It’s a good thing. I think it’s worth noting. There’s a huge decline in birth rate since 2008 in the U.S., in Iowa,” since the 2008 financial crash and loss of optimism.

However, “I think this baby boom we’re having is the opposite,” he said. “It’s indicative of young people in our community that are optimistic. They’re excited about the future. They’re building families. And they’re doing all those things young, vibrant families and people do. It’s great for our community. But it’s also a sign of optimism about our company and this community. That’s a big deal for us.

“We have a crisis in our community and our state of young people leaving,” Mallaro said, where a young person moves to another Midwestern city to be with a boyfriend and girlfriend, for example. “Why don’t we do something about it? It’s a lot harder to get someone to move back than it is to keep them here.

“And there’s a lot of things we can do with quality of life in our community and our state,” Mallaro said, including more public amenities and recreational opportunities, like skate parks and swimming pools – that may not be used by everyone, but would be

22 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

attractive to many.

Mallaro projects that additional hiring over the next four years based on projected business growth, providing a variety of services to businesses in the medical equipment field. For example the company works in worker compensation rehabilitation, procuring medical equipment to individuals recovering from work-related injuries. VGM enterprises also provide group purchasing, commercial insurance, management of health care services and networks in postacute cases, health care distribution direct to patient homes, specialty consulting, online education, digital, print and traditional marketing and more.

Unlike a manufacturer, VGM doesn’t have a product to sell, Mallaro said – just service to customers. And the employers take that seriously, he said, because they’re also owners, under an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. The company is opening a secondary warehouse in Phoenix to serve the West Coast, adding to existing warehouses in Waterloo and Nashville. Those out-ofstate locations, employing about 35 to 40 people each, provide easier shipping to distant locations around the country. But having them there “does help jobs locally,” Mallaro said. “Our customer service, our systems and support, our purchasing, all those back-office functions, are done out of Waterloo. Even if we add jobs in Arizona, it does help add jobs in Waterloo.”

VGM has other offices around the United States, one in Canada and one in North Liberty and one in Decorah.

Since the 2017 building expansion, more recently, VGM remodeled some of its annex space near Crossroads for about $1 million.

“We tried to be a place that would be attrac-

tive to young tech people and the ways they think and work,” with collaboration space as well as some recreation space,” Mallaro said.

There’s room to grow within the office complex at Ansborough and San Marnan.

“We’ve grown a lot, but we have room to grow another 20% before we have to add more office space,” he said.

“The biggest development over the last several years has been the growth in customers,” Mallaro said. “We’ve grown by adding thousands of new customers and, significantly, by retaining customers. We get a tremendous amount of growth from existing customers. We serve some of the largest and most sophisticated companies in our industries in the United States, a whole bunch of big Fortune 500 companies.”

While it’s challenging, “We’ve done a very good job serving them so we’re content to get a little more of their business each year.

“What that means to Waterloo is the people we have here do a fantastic job, Mallaro said. “They are serving these big sophisticated complex companies. And they’re doing such a damn good job of it that we continue to get more and more business from our customers. Our customers like to do business with us. They like to do business with the people that work for us. And our folks do a tremendous job. That’s a credit to the quality of person we have in our company, but also, by extension, the quality of people we have in our communities.

“We really focus on the culture of the organization — the impact one person can make,” valuing the individual, Mallaro said.

“We’re employee owned. Everything you do helps the company, and that helps you, because you’re one of the owners. We’re in the service business. All we’re doing is selling people’s time and ability to meet a customer need. We focus on the culture and engagement of our employees. We cheer each other on. We celebrate great performances by our employees. We only exist to serve our customer. We have to be easy to work with, a place where the customer feels they belong with us and feel like a part of our family.”

VGM, 100% employee owned for 12 years, was recently recognized by The Des Moines Register as one of the top workplaces in Iowa.

The company still plans to have its annual Heartland Conference downtown in June.

About 1,000 people from 47 states came last year.

“Our people love to come to Waterloo,” Mallaro said, noting conferees may have a more positive impression of Waterloo than some everyday residents. “They just think it’s the greatest little community.”

HELP WANTED Grow Cedar Valley labors to expand local workforce “Our role here is, we have to ask, how are you, Grow Cedar Valley, being creative overcoming these barriers? We have been.”

PAT KINNEY For The Courier‌

‌WATERLOO — There’s a labor shortage in the Cedar Valley. So say officials with the area’s leading economic development organization, Grow Cedar Valley.

But decades-low unemployment rates, hovering around 3%, don’t tell the full story. Not everyone is working who could be or wants to.

There are about 2,300 people out of a labor force of about 93,000 who could enter or re-enter the workforce if afforded adequate amenities like child care, Grow Cedar Valley officials said.

And among those who have jobs, there are many under-employed workers who could be working at higher-paid positions given the opportunity.

So the staff at Grow Cedar Valley are faced with a multipronged task: Identify those unemployed who could be back in the workforce and find ways to allow them to do that.

Find more opportunities for under-employed individuals to improve their position.

Continue to promote the Cedar Valley as an outstanding place to live, work, play and raise a family — and a place for former residents to return to do that.

Every employer

Cary Darrah, Grow Cedar Valley executive director

Darrah faces challenges cultivating and retaining a talented workforce, said Cary Darrah, Grow Cedar Valley executive director. “Our role here is, we have to ask, how are you, Grow Cedar Valley, being creative over-

coming these barriers?

We have been.”

Will Frost, director of talent development with Grow Cedar Valley, said his group is “looking at how we can potentially reach into pools of talent that aren’t

being tapped, to reach individuals that aren’t currently participating in the economy.

We’re looking at the newcomer populations; people who are new to the area that are refugees or foreign-born individuals.

Cedar Valley’s major employers Business John Deere (Waterloo) Tyson MercyOne UNI Waterloo Schools UnityPoint Hy-Vee Western Home CBE VGM Cedar Falls Schools Omega Cabinets Bertch Cabinet Martin Brothers Hawkeye Comm. College Central Rivers AEA Wartburg College CUNA Mutual Group City of Waterloo Veridian Credit Union Viking Pump Black Hawk County Waverly-Shell Rock Schools The Isle Casino and Hotel Waverly Health Center Peterson Contractors Target Regional CV Medical Specialists TriMark City of Cedar Falls NewAldaya CV Catholic Schools GMT Corp.

Industry

# of Employees

Manufacturing

5,000

Food processing Health care Education Education Health care Grocery Health care/housing Financial Diversified Education Manufacturing Manufacturing Distribution Education Education Education Finance/insurance Government Financial Manufacturing Government Education Entertainment Health care Construction Distribution Health care Manufacturing Government Health care/housing Education Manufacturing

2,980 2,669 1,811 1,715 1,499 1,325 1,052 982 950 849 812 750 710 700 615 559 541 530 513 491 481 479 456 450 440 431 407 378 361 350 200 192

Source: Grow Cedar Valley COURIER GRAPHIC / KRISTIN GUESS

Committed to Quality & Customer Satisfaction • Garages • Hobby Shops • Commercial • Storage • Metal Homes • And More!

In today’s world, business can’t wait.

Delayed answers from a bank may mean lost opportunities for your business.

DECISIONS MADE LOCALLY 422 COMMERCIAL ST WATERLOO, IA 50701 Call today for a free estimate!

Simon Gingerich 319-464-7781 www.gingerichpostandframe.com

11 tower park dr WATERLOO, IA 50701 312 w. 1st st cedar falls, ia 50613

communitybt.bank | 319.291.2000

MEMBER FDIC

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 23

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart is excited about the state of Waterloo’s economy, which includes a major $18 million expansion by Lincoln Savings Bank into the Tech 1 building on the Cedar Valley TechWorks campus downtown.

GROW with what you know

Existing businesses drive Waterloo’s growth with huge investments TIM JAMISON tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO — Mayor Quentin Hart can point to the numbers when talking about growth in his city’s economy.

Waterloo tallied its second-highest construction value ever last year, while housing starts hit at least a 30year high. Some 45 new businesses opened downtown over the past two years.

And 2019 brought announcements of the planned $100 million Lost Island Theme Park, a $30 million expansion at Tyson Fresh Meats, an $18.3 million Lincoln Savings Bank project at Cedar Valley TechWorks and a $10 million renovation of a downtown hotel.

“We are at a point where our reputation, our statewide and national exposure, is growing positively,” Hart said. “People are starting to hear about the real Waterloo and the tremendous opportunities and potential we have as a community.

“Businesses have a potential to be successful in the city of Waterloo and they know that. The investments that we’ve made to quality of life, the realignment of our economic development department, our national reputation improving for the better.

“People used to always say, ‘Why Waterloo?’” Hart added. “Now the conversation is shifting to, ‘Why not Waterloo?’”

Lisa Skubal, vice president of economic development at Grow Cedar Valley, said 90% of new investment typically comes from companies already operating in a community.

“Over the last several years locally

we have seen a steady pace of expansion and reinvestment by existing businesses and developers,” she said. “As businesses continue to gain confidence in the U.S. economy we hope to see that continue and grow.”

Many of the major projects taking shape in Waterloo today are driven by local investors.

The Lost Island Theme Park is a project by Gary and Becky Bertch, who own Bertch Cabinet Manufacturing; Lincoln Savings Bank, headquartered in Reinbeck, has been in the area for a century; Warren Transport is constructing new headquarters in the Greenbelt Centre business park; the Friendship Village retirement home has embarked on a $70 million rebuilding project; Professional Lawn Care is building a new location near the airport.

Skubal notes the theme park and LSB projects are transformative for the entire Cedar Valley.

“One will both transform the community’s ability of being a destination place in Iowa and elevate the quality of life to attract workforce and the other (will bring) fintech to Waterloo and the Cedar Valley in a big way.”

Fintech is short for financial technology, which includes banks like LSB serving as the financial backend for mobile apps and other web services that need an actual banking service to handle accounts.

LSB’s current renovation of the third through sixth floors of the Tech 1 building at the TechWorks is primarily designed to handle up to 150 new employees for its fintech division, LSBX.

24 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

LSB president Erik Skovgard said the bank chose the Waterloo, site after looking at Des Moines and other communities.

“We are a community bank and community banks are tied with Main Streets,” Skovgard said. “We currently don’t have a location in downtown Waterloo and we wanted to be part of the revitalization that’s going on in downtown Waterloo and the TechWorks.”

Skovgard said the bank, which is also keeping its presence in Reinbeck, is hoping to open its new location in the first quarter of 2021.

Gary Bertch said his family’s investment in the theme park, near the Lost Island Water Park on Shaulis Road, is an effort to help attract more families and workers.

“We see continued need for additional family entertainment in the area,” he said. “More is better. It makes the community overall more appealing to tourists and those folks who may consider moving here.

“We need young people to stay here and we need families — young and old — to stay here,” he added.

“There’s a fight out there for people these days, with unemployment being so low.”

Grading for the new park started last fall and Bertch expects some vertical construction to begin near the middle of this summer. Opening is projected for the summer of 2022.

“The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive,” Bertch said.

“There aren’t a lot of new parks that are being developed in this country anymore, so it also catches the industry’s interest in a big way.”

Another highly visible project is a

$10 million renovation of the aging downtown Ramada into a new Best Western Plus and Executive Residency hotel.

Rod Lindquist, of Makenda LLC, said the South Dakota-based firm saw huge potential in the hotel and was attracted by the city’s efforts to revitalize the convention center and downtown in general.

“We like what Waterloo’s doing,” Lindquist said. “There’s a lot of pride in that community and just so many great things going on downtown. There’s energy there and the people and the businesses support it.”

While Hart said the size of the major expansion projects are something to crow about, he’s equally pleased to see development in all parts of the community.

“We have a lot more minority businesses in downtown — Latino, African American establishments, Bosnian,” he said. “It gives us one of the most diverse downtown business sectors in the state.”

Six industrial parks are spread across the city from the airport to the northeast industrial area to the former Rath Packing Co. area, along San Marnan Drive and at both the north and south ends of U.S. Highway 63. New opportunity zones have been created to entice development in economically depressed areas.

“We are trying to make sure that we can have some semblance of life and reinvestment and redevelopment in every part of the community,” Hart said. “That’s important.

We want everybody to participate in this economy.”

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT

ANDREW WIND andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com

CEDAR FALLS — There’s a corridor of economic growth and renewal underway in the city, stretching from downtown to the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

Redevelopment is the focus downtown as continued growth occurs around South Main Street and Iowa Highway 58. And in the industrial park, businesses are expanding their footprint or constructing new buildings.

All the activity is good for the community, said Lisa Skubal, vice president of economic development at Grow Cedar Valley.

“The developments in Cedar Falls over the last 12 months from completed projects and those just announced will have a ripple effect,” she noted, creating jobs and bringing new money into the economy. Grow Cedar Valley is an advocate for the region’s businesses that champions new development opportunities as well as workforce recruitment and retention initiatives.

Development activity in Waterloo and across Cedar Falls “has been stellar” during the past year, said Skubal.

Expansion of manufacturing and office space in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park is an important contributor to that growth.

The 178,000-square-foot $10 million manufacturing facility completed last summer by Buckeye Corrugated Inc.-Hawkeye Division at 2900 Capital Way was the largest of these developments. The company moved from a location north of downtown.

Five other manufacturing or office building projects completed or underway in the industrial park during the past year had values ranging from $1.4 million to $2.6 million. They include new facilities for Rabo AgriFinance, Zuidberg North America, Test America and Threads Culture/ Baird Industries. In addition, Martin Brothers expanded its existing offices.

Shawn Smeins, who oversees Rabo

CF grows from downtown to industrial park

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rabo AgriFinance will be moving into its new building in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park this spring.

New projects pop up in several parts of city AgriFinance’s Cedar Falls office, said the company will be moving into its new 17,000-square-foot $2.6 million facility by May. The company provides financial services to farmers and was known as Ag Services of America until 2004, when it was acquired by the Dutch multinational corporation. Cedar Falls’ office is their second-largest in the U.S. behind St. Louis.

The company has been in the area for 30 years, with a location in the industrial park for nearly two decades.

It has been leasing a two-story building on Chancellor Drive for about 10 years. “Now we’re outgrowing this space,” said Smeins.

“We have about 60 employees.

Over the next two to four years (the company is) probably increasing our employment level about 30%,” he said. The new facility will be slightly larger and all on one level, which “promotes a lot more teamwork.”

Smeins added that there was no hesitation to expand here.

“We get a very good quality of employee,” he noted, thanks to the K-12 and college educational systems. The staff has strong agricultural roots, as well, since farming is such a prominent part of Iowa’s economy. “That makes for a stronger employment base.”

Commercial growth is happening in and around the industrial park along Highway 58, as well. The largest of these is the $14.3 million Fleet

Farm development, which opened in November at 400 W. Ridgeway Ave. with a 205,000-square-foot retail store and adjacent convenience store.

Other new developments included a $1.8 million Raising Cane’s restaurant as well as neighboring office/ retail buildings on Viking Road valued at $1.9 million and $1.1 million.

In addition, there was a $4.5 million 17,400-square-foot expansion of the Hilton Garden Inn conference center.

“The mixed use developments surrounding Cedar Falls Industrial Park have created a new business corridor within the city that supports over 6,000 people” working in the area, said Skubal. With expansion of the industrial park over the years “the city has continued to thoughtfully plan its future growth.”

New projects were also completed in several other parts of Cedar Falls.

The $1.1 million Cedar Valley Gymnastics Academy is at 3201 Venture Way and the $8.7 million 126-room Holiday Inn & Suites with its 31,000-square-foot conference center is at 7400 Hudson Road. Near South Main Street and Greenhill Road are the $2.8 million Fareway grocery store and the $1.5 million Kwik Star convenience store. Cedar Falls’ new $7.5 million Public Safety Building is in the area, as well, at 4600 S. Main St. Downtown has a new 127-room hotel, the $6.2 million Hampton Inn at West First and Main streets. Two

new mixed retail and residential buildings have been completed near Main Street. Those include the $8 million four-story River Place building at 122 E. Second St. and the $4 million three-story Arabella building at 200 W. First St. “The downtown area has seen some great examples of redevelopment projects that have added housing, unique retails shops, expansion of Jam City and a new hotel all within a short walking distance,” said Skubal.

Jam City is a Los Angeles-based “casual gaming” company that opened a studio in Cedar Falls in 2016. “This live-and-work environment in downtown Cedar Falls is adding to quality of life in the Cedar Valley to attract and retain workforce.”

Carol Lilly, executive director of Cedar Falls Community Main Street, said there is a “clustering effect” as downtown merchants and building owners work together to ensure a good atmosphere for retail businesses, restaurants and bars. “We’ve got a really strong group of small, independent businesses,” she said.

A downtown vision plan approved by the City Council in October will have an impact on zoning for future development because officials are “really tailoring it to the character of the area,” said Stephanie Houk Sheetz, Cedar Falls’ director of community development. “That’s a pretty significant effort that still has a lot of parts to come in the next phase.”

In the meantime, an ongoing streetscaping project is ramping up this spring, making improvements to the Parkade and some roads.

“I think what we try to do is have a balance of public investment to what private investment is doing,” said Sheetz, of improvements planned by the city. “If nothing’s happening investment’s stagnant, too. It feeds off of each other a little bit.”

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 25

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT

Buchanan County bucking rural

BRAIN DRAIN AMIE RIVERS amie.rivers@wcfcourier.com

INDEPENDENCE — Most counties in Iowa — more than two-thirds of them, mostly rural — have been shedding people for years. Because they’re losing residents, they’re having a harder time attracting employers. That, in turn, makes it difficult to attract and retain workers, which makes it less likely they’ll live in those areas. That makes home builders wary of spending money, and so on and so on.

But a few rural counties have escaped that downward spiral. Buchanan County is one of them.

“We’ve got a young workforce, schools are growing, we’ve got a growing tax base, housing starts — we’re doing well,” said George Lake, director of the Buchanan County Economic Development Commission.

Lake’s not wrong. While the neighboring counties of Benton, Delaware and Fayette lost population from 2010 to 2018, Buchanan County gained an estimated 1.2%.

The county also boasts a higher high school graduation rate than its neighbors (94.1%), as well as a lower median age of 38. The other three counties have a median age above 40.

“For Iowa, 69 of Iowa’s 99 counties have lost population since 2010,” Lake said, citing U.S. Census data and adding it was true for rural areas across the U.S. “If you look at 25 counties that make up Northeast Iowa, we’re only one of two rural counties that have gained population.”

Business growth among its largest manufacturers — Geater Machining

and Manufacturing in Independence is the largest with 456 employees — is the biggest driver of Buchanan County’s growth, Lake said. He said the manufacturing sector in the county has grown “by 50% since 2011” and manufacturing accounts for 25% of all of the county’s employment.

“It’s huge,” Lake said.

Geater, as well as Pries Enterprises and Wapsie Valley Creamery, each have “invested millions” over the last six years, Lake said. In November, Pries added 50,000 square feet and a new, multi-million dollar anodizing line, adding 40 new jobs.

Those expansions encourage new workers and families to move to the area, Lake said.

“It’s not luck,” Lake said. “These companies are all very innovative.

They’re willing to invest in new technologies, they’re outliving their competitors and they’re run by very smart people.”

It certainly makes Lake’s job easier. On GrowBuchanan.com, he’s able to use that good news as a jumping-off point to sell his county to families, home builders and companies around the world who may be looking to relocate.

But Lake isn’t just looking out for Buchanan County. That used to be the mantra, he said: “Why should I help the town next to me do well? If things don’t happen in my town, then nothing’s happening.”

The thinking has changed. Now, besides the commission, Lake also is part of the Cedar Valley Regional Partnership, a six-county economic development organization established several years ago to support existing businesses and attract new

26 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

BRANDON POLLOCK COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

From left are Geater Machining and Manufacturing Machining Engineering Manager Erik Bohlken; George Lake, Buchanan County Economic Development Commission director; and John Miller, Geater vice president of engineering technology.

ones.

“If I was trying to recruit, let’s say, a business from Germany to come into Buchanan County, I’d say, ‘Come to Buchanan County, we’ve got 20,000 people here to help your business grow. But from the standpoint of the Cedar Valley, we’ve got 230,000 people for you to draw upon.’

“I fully recognize that if there is a business in a surrounding community that is growing and expanding, that means there are going to be jobs for Buchanan County residents,” Lake said.

Lake pointed to the number of people who commuted into Buchanan County — 3,389 as of 2017 — and the nearly 7,000 people who commuted from their homes in Buchanan County someplace else to work.

“That tells me there are people that love to live in small, rural communities and they’re willing to drive up to 50 miles to work somewhere else,” he said. The average commute, he noted, was 11 miles.

Lake’s job, then, is to keep that economic growth from stagnating, and he does that in a few different ways.

His first priority is a focus on his county’s existing businesses, be that touting the good news of their expansions, hosting career fairs and workshops on succession planning, or doing studies on what needs to be done to keep the growth going.

“Two years ago, Buchanan County Economic Development did a housing needs assessment that showed there’s a need for 700 to 800 new housing units,” Lake said. “After we

published that, literally within a week or two we had large home builders in surrounding counties approach me and wanted a tour of communities in Buchanan County.”

He said that led to new single-family homes built in Independence and Jesup, as well as plans for a 68-unit apartment complex in Independence.

“They’re willing to take a risk, sometimes for millions of dollars, because they’re confident they’ll be able to sell,” Lake said.

He recognizes not every community, county or region has that good news to share, or the tax base to draw upon to run utilities and infrastructure, and that things could just as easily spiral downward if investments aren’t made.

“In terms of the challenges that we’re facing in rural America, it clearly is workforce. We have businesses in Buchanan County turning away business because they don’t have the workforce they need to deliver the product,” Lake said. “It’s difficult to attract workers to live in the communities if they don’t have available housing.

“It takes a lot of money to do this, and if you don’t have a large tax base, you don’t have the money to invest,” he added. “There is no easy solution.”

But thinking of his county as a region, being local businesses’ biggest cheerleader and shouting the good news from the rooftops has been the trifecta for Lake.

“I see myself as an educator, regardless of the job I’m doing,” said Lake, a former teacher and professor. “Knowledge is power, and if you don’t share your knowledge, you’re powerless.”

Small-town living spurs growth in Hudson

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT

Good schools, trails just minutes from shopping centers JEFF REINITZ jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com

HUDSON – Even in the middle of winter, one can see new businesses and neighborhoods starting to take shape around Hudson.

On the city’s north edge, commercial buildings and homes are going up near the Highway 20/ Highway 58 interchange.

And momentum for residential development continues on the west.

“We have a whole mix of stuff,” said Chrissi Wiersma, the city’s zoning administrator.

She said people are drawn to Hudson because it offers smalltown living that isn’t far from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.

“What’s drawing them in is

that we are in small town but close enough to everything that you could possible need,” Wiersma said. “It just really depends what people are looking for.”

In a 17-acre industrial park south of U.S. Highway 20 with street names like Fast Lane and Riders Road — a nod to the Dr. Powersports motorcycle and off-road vehicle dealership that anchored the spot — new businesses are going in.

The area will be the home to business condos with about 20 units for lease, Wiersma said.

Just south of that, north of Ranchero Road just off of Butterfield Road, is the Twin Oaks housing development. Its website boasts the quality Hudson School District

JEFF REINITZ, JEFF.REINITZ@WCFCOURIER.COM

Houses of Upper Ridge Estates along West Schrock Road and Pirate Street in Hudson. with just five minutes to the Target shopping area in neighboring Cedar Falls.

Closer to town, Upper Ridge Estates is getting ready for its next phase of residential lots in the area of West Schrock Road and Pirate Street near the school ball fields.

Hudson is a popular place to live for three primary reasons, said Tom Petersen with Upper Ridges — its school system, the experience of small-town living and the close proximity to recreational trails.

“It’s a good place to raise a family,” Petersen said.

Upper Ridge bought the land

in 2006, and construction for the first phase started the following year with 38 lots, Petersen said. The second phase was underway in 2014 with an additional 26 lots, which were recently completed.

The current phase started in the fall and will bring 33 more lots, Petersen said.

Petersen said Upper Ridges residents are a mixture of Hudson natives and transplants from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area and other cities.

“We have a lot of people coming from out of town, moving to Hudson,” Petersen said.

Create your perfect day

with our unique indoor and outdoor riverfront venues

Waterloo Center for the Arts

Phelps Youth Pavillion

RiverLoop Amphitheatre

RiverLoop Expo Plaza

More information at www.waterloocenterforthearts.org

319.291.4490 www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 27

5 TOWNS ROCKING DEVELOPMENT

Groundbreaking

GROWTH projected for Waverly

Railcar business putting Shell Rock on the global map KRISTIN GUESS kristin.guess@wcfcourier.com

WAVERLY – This town of nearly 10,000 people just minutes north of the Cedar Falls-Waterloo metro area is bustling this year with a $27 million hospital expansion project, new business offices and several housing projects in the works.

“There are a lot of truly positive things happening in Waverly,” said Waverly Economic Development Specialist Connie Tolan.

Crews will break ground this year on the expansion to Waverly Health Center, an award-winning hospital and medical center, at 312 Ninth St. S.W. The project will upgrade and expand the emergency department and clinic spaces for the operation that serves patients across five counties.

Across town the city has revamped the former Lutheran Mutual Insurance Society office building into downtown apartment housing units at 200 First St. N.E. Waverly Historic Lofts are nearing completion with 34 apartment units featuring river views, brass and marble finishes and the building’s historic character.

The new digs are just part of more than 100 apartment units that have been constructed in Waverly in the past three years, filling a market demand from young professionals looking for rental housing with all the amenities.

Adding to the momentum is The Accel Group, an Iowa-based insurance agency with five locations across the state. The firm moved into its new 15,100-square-foot facility in October 2019 at 301 Oak Ridge Circle.

The new space, designed by Emergent Architecture in Cedar Falls and built by Steege Construction in Waverly, allows for more space to accommodate technology-driven conference rooms and phone booths, a social café and an outdoor terrace with views to the city.

28 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

“With continued growth and a vision that includes further expansion regionally, we were excited for the opportunity to design and lease a space to better serve our staff and clients,” said Ty Burke, a partner with The Accel Group.

“What started as a piece of land has turned into a statement for the culture and ambitions of our company.”

The tech firm Network Control also expanded operations and moved into a renovated space in Willow Lawn Mall at 195 20th St. N.W. The company’s owner, of California, chose Waverly as its headquarters because of the city’s high-quality workforce and gigabit internet services, said Tolan.

The city also attracted recognition last month with the 2020 Healthy Hometown Community Award at the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative awards ceremony. Waverly’s healthy initiatives include traffic calming measures by the recent reconfiguration of Bremer Avenue/Highway 3, expanded community sharing gardens, and a tobacco- and nicotine-free policy covering the 21 parks in Waverly and seven miles of trail system.

“We are incredibly proud of what our community has accomplished to create more environments and opportunities for our citizens to move more, eat well and feel better and are appreciative to have proactive community organizations that support and encourage this work,” said Mayor Adam Hoffman.

Waverly will unveil a community marketing campaign at the end of the month that will showcase opportunities and quality of life to further bolster the workforce, residents, business investments and tourism.

Nearby Butler County, home to the city of Shell Rock, with about 1,200 people, has seen tremendous growth in the railcar industry.

The newly-developed Butler Intermodal

COURTESY PHOTO

The first international inbound train travels to Shell Rock Jan. 23 on the newly-developed Butler Intermodal Terminal. The newlydeveloped Butler Intermodal Terminal in Shell Rock has put Northeast Iowa on the map for global shipping services with a recent collaboration.

Terminal in Shell Rock has put Northeast Iowa on the map for global shipping services with a recent collaboration.

Several companies partnered together to create an internationally focused intermodal service through the terminal, providing an alternative to larger Midwest rail hubs in the Twin Cities and Chicago. It’s expected to provide a cost-competitive solution to reduce long-haul trucking miles and save time and fuel costs.

The businesses include Valor Victoria, a Midwest company that has opened new international markets with local access, Iowa Northern Railway Company, a shortline railroad serving industries throughout north central Iowa, Watco Cos., a transportation and supply chain logistics company, and Union Pacific, the railroad that connects 23 states by rail.

“I think the impact that project can have on our entire region is pretty significant, because it’s a service that’s not been available in our region,” said Jeff Kolb, executive director of the Butler County Development Alliance.

Adjacent to the intermodal site is Trinity Rail Maintenance Services that broke ground last summer and is expected to roll in more than 250 jobs with a planned capital investment of $60 million into the community. The rail car renovation and manufacturing business, TrinityRail is being built on 230 acres at Butler Logistics Park, located between Shell Rock and Clarksville near 220th Street and Vail Avenue.

The business plans to be fully operational by the end of this year.

To prepare for growth in residents, the Butler County Development Alliance embarked on a housing needs assessment project to forecast the number of housing units that will be needed. The project included reports from area real estate agents who provided guidance on what people are looking for and what barriers exist in attracting residents.

The county has been encouraging investments in housing and preserving existing housing.

“Housing is a top priority for a lot of our communities,” Kolb said.

CAPS

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Center for Advanced Professional Studies students from Cedar Falls High School check out Covenant Medical Center’s rooftop helicopter.

CAPS gives students

REAL-WORLD SKILLS KRISTIN GUESS kristin.guess@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO – Cedar Valley students are racking up the skills and experience to enter the workforce after high school.

The Cedar Falls Center for Advanced Professional Studies program implemented at Cedar Falls High School three years ago immerses students in a real-world work environment for half of their school day for a semester.

The program began with students working in the engineering field at Viking Pump, the first host site for the program.

“After that spring semester we had a tremendous amount of growth,” said CAPS Director Ethan Wiechmann on an online episode Feb. 6 of Parent University with the high school.

The career-exploration program is expected to increase to 75 possible jobs by this fall.

The jobs provide a collaboration opportunity between the Cedar Valley community, businesses and

education.

CAPS strands include Education & Training, housed at the University of Northern Iowa Schindler Education Center; Business Solutions (previously at Mill Race) and Coworking & Collaboration are now at UNI’s Center for Business Growth and Innovation; Robotics & Engineering is at Viking Pump; and Medical & Health Services is scheduled to be added next year at Allen College and MercyOne Cedar Falls.

“We’re very proud of the CAPS program and the work they do,” said Cedar Falls Schools Superintendent Andy Pattee.

The unique program focuses on working on projects for businesses rather than an internship model.

Students are then able to update their resume with skills learned on the job.

“Without those real-world experiences … it’s hard to have those experiences that are needed to develop our students here in the Cedar Valley,” Wiechmann said.

Officials with Eagle View Partners, which own the Black Hawk Hotel in downtown Cedar Falls, hired a group of CAPS students interested in marketing and planning to come up with the first community event to be hosted by the hotel. They chose a Murder Mystery Party that attracted 100 people.

“They took full control of it running from start to finish,” said Audrey Kittrell, vice president of business development with Eagle View Partners. “It was great exposure for us and really accomplished the goal of getting people reintroduced with the hotel.”

Cedar Falls student Joey Nielsen and his team chose the murder mystery project.

“It being one of the biggest projects CAPS has done, it was a little nerve-wrecking, but it was a really fun project for everyone on board,” Nielsen said.

Jesup recently launched the CAPS program. More than 30 students applied to be considered for the first semester, and 15 were

selected to begin in January 2020.

“CAPS is a wonderful opportunity that we are excited to bring to Jesup High School,” says Allyson Kitch, Jesup CAPS instructor.

“Students will have the opportunity to be a CAPS associate during their junior or senior years, replacing three elective credits and giving them hands-on opportunities to complete projects for local businesses. Jesup CAPS is an affiliate of CF CAPS so our associates will also be able to complete projects and network with students and community members out of district.”

Farmers State Bank purchased the property at 591 Young St. on July 16, 2019, at a sheriff’s Sale, and after careful consideration of developing a co-working space and CAPS program facility, Heartland Technology purchased the property Sept. 27. A partnership between FSB and Heartland Technology was created to support the Jesup community through this multi-purpose facility, with co-working offices and off-site space for Jesup Community School District CAPS students and business professionals.

“FSB is very excited to work with local business professionals, along with the youth in our community through the CAPS program,” said Angie Sabers, Farmers State Bank branch manager. “This new venture gives everyone the opportunity to learn, grow and engage with each other on a professional level.”

Next year, the Denver and Don Bosco high schools are planning to take the program on, allowing five area CAPS programs to work together by 2021.

The CAPS program extends across the country with 57 different programs serving 115 districts in 18 states, and one program in Mumbai, India. The far reach allows districts to communicate with others on what is working and what is not.

“There’s a wealth of experiences, and people are trying different things and beta testing things all over the nation that we get to tap into and use as resources,” Wiechmann said. www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 29

STAYING POWER

EARLY FOUNDERS helps students launch businesses

KARRIS GOLDEN For the Courier

CEDAR FALLS — Business success needs more than a great idea.

Success comes from hard work, patience and perseverance, said Laurie Watje, associate director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at the University of Northern Iowa.

For more than a decade, she has helped budding entrepreneurs use JPEC’s services to turn ideas into viable enterprises.

One of the center’s newer initiatives is the Early Founders Program. The eight-week summer immersion helps participants focus on their business startup or idea.

The program grew out of a desire to replicate experiences provided by business accelerator experiences at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa State University in Ames and Drake University in Des Moines, said Watje. “(We) wanted to make something like that happen here — provide a program that would allow students to spend the summer months really focused on developing their business and growing it,” she explained.

One of the biggest challenges is financing, Watje added. It’s tough for students to devote time and energy to developing businesses, because many return home for the summer so they can work and earn money for school expenses.

However, launching a new business requires intense focus, she said. As a result, participants must commit fully for the entire eight weeks.

“They are not allowed to have a day job; they have to be up here. No classes either,” said Watje. “To make this happen here, we pay each student as they hit benchmarks, up to $5,000 per individual and $10,000 per team.”

These stipends are funded by the R.J. McElroy Trust, Veridian Credit Union and donors Ben and Kayla Frein.

In return, students must make steady and measurable progress on their business plans, customer research, product analysis, market forecasting and more.

Each day starts at 8 a.m., with classroom sessions devoted to honing various business skills. Attention is paid to things like mapping

30 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

COURTESY PHOTO

Akanksha Sahni pitched her company, FlourishPack, at a weekly One Million Cups Cedar Valley in July 2019 as part of the UNI Early Founders Program. out “sprints,” or short-term goals; scrum sessions, where issues and possible solutions are discussed; roundtables with CEOs from established area businesses; and one-on-one business coaching.

Using these lessons, students regularly revise and refine their business pitches and deliver them to a variety of audiences. Teams also received offices in the R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator.

Area businesses, organizations and individuals provided program content and advice.

This included a variety of Cedar Valley entrepreneurs, such as Andy Fuchtman of Sidecar Coffee, Kris Boettger of Barn Happy and Mark Kittrell of Eagle View Partners.

“So many people were willing to come and spend significant time talking to students about how they developed and worked on their businesses, from the good to the bad to the ugly,” said Watje.

The program also received ongoing support from Keevin O’Rourke, a 2016 UNI graduate.

O’Rourke, a former JPEC incubator tenant, advised Watje on curriculum. He suggested materials from Fluent Studio, a company that evaluates a startup’s “innovation risk.”

Beth McKeon, Fluent Studio founder and CEO, developed the company at the Iowa Startup Accelerator in Iowa City. The company’s “Fluency Score” uses a complex algorithm to assess 300 data points and determine a startup’s viability.

With the score, founders can use other Fluent tools to address risks and maximize strengths.

O’Rourke joined the Fluent staff as chief strategy officer and was on site during summer 2019 to serve as an Early Founders Program mentor.

“It was a cool full circle that he came and helped us launch the first program,” said

Watje. “He’ll be here again to help us this year.”

The pilot group included five business teams with emphases that run the gamut, from apparel to women’s health.

Jessica Wise’s White & Yellow T-Shirt Co. is among those that continue to utilize JPEC incubator space.

Wise is a senior majoring in marketing and used the Early Founders Program to establish a solid brand image and draft a product development and promotion plan.

Ross Vande Voort developed his mobile app company, Voortechs, through the program. The mathematics major graduated in December.

Vande Voort’s original idea was to develop a product that would help golfers track their scores and statistics. To complete customer discovery, he went to metro area courses and talked to golfers, asking how they tracked their information.

What Vande Voort learned was that most golfers weren’t particularly interested in switching from paper to an app.

However, Vande Voort’s openness to shifting markets meant he didn’t have to abandon his idea altogether, said Watje.

“One of the first questions we ask founders is, ‘How married are you to the idea?’ … Ross couldn’t find anybody who would say they’d

use this — nobody,” said Watje.

Through the customer discovery process, Vande Voort did learn there was another market for his idea: coaches from universities with ranking golf teams.

“By getting out and talking to people, Ross discovered it’s a big headache for (golf) coaches to track and monitor the stats for everyone on their teams; those players and coaches are his market,” said Watje.

Customer discovery also pushed founder Akanksha Sahni to make a significant change to her business idea.

Her original plan was for her company, FlourishPak, to provide subscription boxes to women during menstruation. The boxes would include items focused on improving everything from physical to emotional well being.

However, the overwhelming majority of Sahni’s prospective customers said their primary need related to issues of online bullying.

As a result, her focus shifted to a product offering in that vein.

Now in its second year, the Early Founders Program is recruiting students for summer 2020. As with the first session, selection will be highly competitive, said Watje.

JPEC will post entrepreneurial workshops March 27 and April 3. Upon completion of the workshops, prospective Early Founders

COURTESY PHOTO‌

Denzel Washington, left, and Spencer Walthall work on a business exercise together.

Program participants will gain access to the summer 2020 application.

“It’s open to any UNI student, any major,” said Watje. “We want them to still be a student in (fall 2020), because we want them to stay involved. We want them to retain an office in the incubator, so we can continue working with them and help them develop their idea.”

PARADISE

209 Lots

Estates

PARADISE Estates

Waterloo’s largest proposed Housing Development

This is a premier development surrounding the new Orange School on Kimball Avenue and Orange Road. It is planned to be done in phases different sized lots of various prices, along with some spec homes.

Anderson Enterprises

100 Anderson Dr., Waterloo, IA 50701 | (319) 234-1715

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 31

David Deeds stands in one of the kitchens of the renovated apartments in the Webberking Building in Waterloo on Jan 22, 2020.

STAYING POWER

Investors breathe life into historic buildings TIM JAMISON tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO — Developers are making sure the Cedar Valley’s future keeps relics of its past.

Several century-old downtown buildings in Waterloo and Cedar Falls are undergoing major transformations from their historic uses — a bakery, car dealership, factory and even a Masonic temple — to become residential apartments, space for new businesses or both.

“There’s nothing wrong with new construction, but they tend to be more programmatic,” said David Deeds, of JSA Development. “These spaces have more character. They’re all different. They’re all unique.”

JSA Development, which has restored 20 buildings in downtown Waterloo, has completed a $2.5 million historic renovation of the Webberking Building at 612-616 Mulberry St. The resulting Mulberry Street Apartments includes two street-level storefronts, three one-bedroom apartments on the first floor, and four open loft spaces on the second and third floors.

The 2,000-square-foot lofts are “open concept” with only the bathroom area confined behind walls and doors.

“Most of the spaces that are available downtown are more traditional apartment layouts where you’ve got a bedroom and a living space defined by permanent walls,” Deeds said. “It’s up to the user how to define this space.”

The three-story brick building was constructed by Ernest Webberking in 1917 to house an automotive sales company, college and apartments. It was remodeled in 1923 by the Lichty Real Estate Co. using noted architect Mortimer Cleveland.

A barber shop has occupied one of the commercial storefronts since 1941. Chuck Wubbena’s Arms Hairstyling Centre remains a tenant in the renovated building.

Another landmark downtown building a

32 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

KELLY WENZEL, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

block away was undergoing a historic renovation expected to be ready for occupancy this month.

The former Waterloo Masonic Temple at East Park Avenue and Mulberry Street is being restored and repurposed into 27 residential units.

The $5 million project by Echo Development Group, spearheaded by Brent Dahlstrom, is designed to show off this historic character of the building. It includes unique living spaces on the upper two levels which were never finished when the 50,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1925.

Echo Development’s Justin Bolger said the building “will definitely be one of a kind in the area.”

“It has posed daily challenges from the perspective of trying to fit 27 apartments into an existing shell while also maintaining the historical character of the original building,” Bolger said. “Almost every apartment is unique to itself and that will provide future tenants many options to choose from.”

Bolger said the project required some ingenuity to work around the materials used in the original construction but noted “some of the hardest challenges that come with the project will also provide some of the best features.”

All of the apartments will feature a mix of exposed steel, concrete and clay-tile block while mixing in modern elements.

“By leaving many of the original ceilings and walls exposed, we think people will really be amazed when they see how the existing structure was constructed,” Bolger said. “It’s pretty incredible to think back to the materials, tools and equipment that were available when they constructed this building, and that will be on full display.”

Kade Hoppenworth and Dan Cooley are also hoping to show off the historic character of the former Friedl Bakery building at 300 Commercial St., across the street from the downtown Waterloo SingleSpeed Brewing Co. project, which is also a repurposed bakery.

The duo is working on a $3.5 million project to create street-level storefronts or offices

with a dozen apartments on the top two floors.

Built in 1911 by Bohemian immigrant Wenzel Friedl as a bakery, the building lost its historic integrity over the years as it was carved up into a variety of business spaces and efficiency apartments before going vacant a few years ago.

Just down the road, Lincoln Savings Bank is investing in an $18.3 million renovation to take over the top three floors of the Tech 1 Building on the Cedar Valley TechWorks campus at 360 Westfield Ave. The six-story building was constructed in 1947 as part of Deere and Co.’s tractor manufacturing operations but went dark when the company rebuilt its local factories in the 1990s. The LSB project essentially fills up the two buildings Deere donated for the TechWorks project.

One needs to travel west to find perhaps the oldest Cedar Valley building currently being restored and repurposed.

Brad and Jenny Leeper are renovating the 145-year-old building at 203-205 Main St., which they acquired from the Cedar Falls Municipal Band last year. The upper floor band rehearsal and museum space will become two apartments while the former St. Vincent de Paul thrift store at ground level will house a new tenant.

Brad Leeper is a partner at Invision Architecture, which has redeveloped other historic buildings locally and around the country, and he saw the building’s potential.

“We consider this project an opportunity to contribute to the mending, restoration and success of Main Street by redeveloping a building that had become one of the few remaining, long-neglected eyesores in the downtown area,” he said.

The Leepers were working in February to find a tenant for the main floor that would contribute to the existing mix of Main Street businesses.

“Ideally, this is a business that would take the whole space and not produce an abundance of noise,” he said. “We want to get the right fit for us and for Main Street.”

Leeper also said the building renovation will acknowledge its past owner.

“Since its inception in 1857, the Cedar Falls Band has been a fixture in our community,” he said. “With the rehabilitation and revitalization of the former Cedar Falls Band building, we are excited to honor that history in our approach and design for this redevelopment project.”

Health care CEOs talk SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES META HEMENWAY-FORBES meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO — Health care is at the heart of any community, and the Cedar Valley is no different. The choices locally are many, and continue to grow as health care providers further hone their focus on improving access and quality of care.

PAM DELAGARDELLE CEO, UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital What were the biggest successes?

Our biggest trend was the rapid growth of outpaDelagardelle tient services in facilities designed for patient convenience. We had 77,000 outpatient visits to our four Urgent Cares, which offer fast, inexpensive care for medical issues that don’t require emergency services.

We also had 204,000 outpatient visits to our clinics at Prairie Parkway in 2019. That’s a 16% increase in patient visits from 2018 and a great example of how vital it is to offer the right services by the right people in the right places at the right times.

What additional projects are planned for 2020?  We opened our second pediatrics clinic in Waterloo in January. Our first pediatrics-specific clinic opened in 2017 in Cedar Falls.  We opened a UnityPoint Clinic Express in Waverly on Feb. 3. UnityPoint Clinic Express is a new name for urgent care.  The Ambulatory Surgery Center at United Medical Park will be a true ASC, and we expect procedures to start occurring there in April. It will provide patients the same excellent outcomes at lower costs.  We will hold the second annual community breakfast to support Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center at Bien Venu Events Center in Cedar Falls on Oct. 2.  We will begin planning for the centennial anniversary of Allen Hospital, coming in February 2025.

What are the biggest challenges facing health care institutions in 2020?

Like so many other enterprises, hospitals and health care systems across America are consolidating. The challenge is to make wise choices and execute them in ways that keep the quality of care high and the costs of care affordable. Our first job is to be here when people need us, and neither communities nor providers should ever take ready access to excellent care for granted.

What does the wealth and breadth of health care options in the Cedar Valley say about the community?

It says this is a great place to be and grow. Ready access to health care is fundamental to the success of any community, and we have the providers and services to care for 280,000 people across the Cedar Valley. Health care is also a top Cedar Valley economic driver, with some 10,000 people employed in clinical care and allied professions and jobs that support it.

GIL IREY CEO Cedar Valley Medical Specialists What were the biggest successes?

Cedar Valley Medical Specialists has recently opened five new or Irey repurposed facilities, representing a total investment of over $14 million in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020.

These facilities include the new Cedar Valley Orthopedic Surgery & Physical Therapy Center, where Drs. Thomas Gorsche, Robert Bartelt and Mark Gorsche care for orthopedic injuries and conditions. The new building was completed in December and also houses Cedar Valley Physical Therapy’s third location.

Also, in December, Drs. Ravi Mallavarapu, Srinivas Kalala, Arun Muthusamy, and Suhag Patel of the Cedar Valley Digestive Health Center renovated and relocated to the old John Deere Health Care building on Hackett Road. And in November, Dr. David Congdon remodeled and moved his ENT, sinus and allergy, facial plastic/reconstructive surgery, med spa, skin cancer and hearing clinics to (2515 Cyclone Drive, Waterloo) the space

STAYING POWER

next to Mauer Eye Center.

Our biggest success, however, is our improved patient experience while maintaining the affordable quality our patients deserve. By investing in the renovation of our existing facilities and by constructing new facilities when necessary, we have been able to provide convenient access to our clinics in addition to improved patient flow, resulting in a better experience for our patients.

What additional projects are planned for 2020?

By the end of the first quarter of 2020, Cedar Valley Medical Specialists will complete two more facility upgrade projects. The brand-new Cedar Valley OrthoAgility Center will be opening soon on Prairie Parkway in Cedar Falls, where Drs. Todd Johnston, Roswell Johnston and Benjamin Torrez will treat a variety of orthopedic injuries and conditions. Cedar Valley Physical Therapy will provide services in this location as well.

The old Allen Digestive Health location is also being remodeled and primary care physician Dr. Gregory Harter will begin seeing patients there soon. The location will also house Cedar Valley Physical Therapy’s fourth location in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area.

What are the biggest challenges facing health care institutions in 2020?

The biggest challenge facing health care providers and institutions in 2020 is meeting the needs of patients while understanding that deductibles have risen and will continue to rise.

Health care providers need to think creatively in order to meet the needs of their patients rather than the needs of providers or hospital systems. That’s what it means to provide patient-centered care: the needs of our patients come first. If we’re not providing care that our patients want or need at an affordable price, then we are failing in our role as health care professionals.

What does the wealth and breadth of health care options in the Cedar Valley say about the community?

The wealth and breadth of health care options available in our community are critical for sustainability in the Cedar Valley, both for the people

who live here and the businesses that serve them. That said, duplication of hospital services has and will continue to plague the fragility of health care finances in smaller communities until collaboration can replace unnecessary repetition. Until that happens, health care costs will continue to rise.

JACK DUSENBERY President and CEO of MercyOne Northeast Iowa What were the biggest successes?

Feb. 1 marked one year since the official launch of Dusenbery MercyOne. We have great colleagues, physicians, providers and leaders in Northeast Iowa and we’re working to build a system of care across the state.

We’re focused on our workplace culture, the consumer experience, team engagement, quality and overall performance so we can continue to impact the health and well-being of people in the communities we serve.

What additional projects are coming in 2020?

We have several statewide initiates and strategies underway to allow us to be more convenient to northeast Iowans, including online scheduling and telehealth access to behavioral health care. We’re also expanding access to specialty care in the rural communities we already serve, with regular visits from more of our specialty physicians and surgeons.

What are the biggest challenges facing health care institutions in 2020?

Our challenges are the declining reimbursement rates, especially compared to inflationary pressures and workforce shortages.

What does the wealth and breadth of health care options in the Cedar Valley say about the community?

We’re blessed and fortunate to serve such an outstanding community! As the premier health care system serving Northeast Iowa we never take this privilege lightly. We’re proud of the exceptional health care we provide.

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 33

Cedar Valley

STAYING POWER

housing market heats up HOLLY HUDSON For the Courier

The housing market in the Cedar Valley has remained strong and steady over the last year, though a look at the statistics show some interesting anomalies.

Dick Robert, owner/broker with Cedar Falls Real Estate Co., has been analyzing and predicting housing market trends for decades. Last year, he predicted a 4% decrease in the number of detached single-family home sales in Cedar Falls. Instead, sales were up slightly. As for Waterloo, Robert expected a 3% decline. Instead sales were down 4.2%.

Robert’s market survey, which does not include town homes or condos, showed 898 homes were sold in 2018 in Waterloo. The number in 2019 was 861. In Cedar Falls sales increased from 509 in 2018 to 514 in 2019.

The average sale price in Waterloo went from $122,817 in 2018 to $126,126 in 2019, a 2.69% increase. Cedar Falls recorded a 3.85% increase from $226,891 in 2018 to $235,621 in 2019.

In January 2019, there were 304 homes listed for sale in Waterloo, compared to 246 this January. Cedar Falls had 150 homes on the market this January, up from 139 a year ago.

Robert pointed out 10% of homes listed in Cedar Falls were former rental properties, suggesting a soft rental market.

According to Noel Anderson, community planning and development director for the city of Waterloo, 55 new residences, including multi-family, were built in fiscal year 2018 with a valuation of $104.7 million. That number jumped to 314 in FY 2019, with a valuation of $142.26 million.

“That increase is mainly due to construction of multi-use buildings in and around downtown

34 PROGRESS 2020 | www.wcfcourier.com/progress

HOLLY HUDSON, FOR THE COURIER

Construction continues on the Art Bloc apartment building overlooking the RiverLoop Amphitheatre in downtown Waterloo.

Waterloo, such as Grand Crossing (at Jefferson Street and Westfield Avenue),” Anderson said.

“That is a trend nationwide. The younger generation tends to want to rent first before buying a home.

“Grand Crossing plans to expand, and the Art Bloc and the Masonic Temple project are under construction,” he said.

So far, in FY 2020, there are 26 new residences with a valuation of $31.73 million.

Anderson sees more development in the future.

“New subdivisions are in development. You see a lot on the south side of town, and we are hoping for more on the north side. Friendship Village is continuing to expand, as well as Audubon Park subdivision.”

Cedar Falls Community Development Director Stephanie Houk Sheetz said in Cedar Falls in fiscal year 2018, there were 115 new single-family homes built with a valuation of $28,949,644. In fiscal year 2019 there were 100 new homes with a value of $26,621,361.

By the first half of fiscal year 2020, 56 new homes were slated at a valuation of $15,273,153.

“We are seeing most of the residential growth occurring to the

west and southwest,” Sheetz said, “including Arbors, Prairie Winds, Prairie West and Wild Horse. We also have continued to have permits for Autumn Ridge, Heritage Hills and Pinnacle Prairie.”

Sheetz said the city so far this year has not received permit requests for mixed-use buildings like Waterloo has, but already has a fair share of its own in downtown and on College Hill, including River Place on State Street and Arabella on First and Washington streets.

“I think what this type of development offers is opportunity for interactions of uses,” Sheetz said. “Lots of communities have talked about ‘live, work, play,’ and when you have mixed-use you can have all of those in the same building or vicinity.”

“The year-end totals for Cedar Falls are very revealing,” said Mary Shileny, chief executive officer for the Northeast Iowa Regional Board of Realtors.“The same number of homes sold each year since 2016, an average of 525. The change in the median sale price was up $44,500 from 2016. The average sale price was up $31,936 from 2016.”

Shileny said the days homes

were on the market dropped from 58 to 49 for all sales and 53 to 43 in residential sales.

“These listings sold at 98% of their list price consistently, Shileny said.

Buyers preferred three-bedroom homes, with 1,053 sold in 2019.

Shileny advised sellers to have a quick moving plan in mind.

“Houses are selling (for higher prices) in less time,” she said. “If priced right, (a home) will be gone in less than 50 days.”

“The simple rule of supply and demand creates an excellent market for new construction,” Shileny said. “Fifty-five new homes were built in 2019 with 16 for sale today. The Cedar Falls market is in a great position to leap into 2020.”

In Waterloo, the average sale price in 2019 was $130,667, with median sales at $118,450.

“This is an increase of $21,128 over the past five years,” Shileny said. “The price increase is reflective of a lower number of homes sold, and fewer homes on the market. The average days on the market for all classes of properties is just 40 days. The favorite style of homes sold are three-bedroom, with 631 out of 1,264 residential homes sold in 2019 in Waterloo.”

Three-bedroom homes are selling in an average of 36 days with an average of 97% of listing price.

Shileny said the market is hot in Waterloo.

“Nothing on the market priced right stays on the market more than two months. Homes are selling for more at an average of $21,128 higher, and there are just 165 residential properties active today,”said Mary Shileny, chief executive officer for the Northeast Iowa Regional Board of Realtors.

STAYING POWER

HCC health care apprenticeships MELODY PARKER melody.parker@wcfcourier.com

WATERLOO – Typically, apprenticeships are reserved for the skilled trades such as carpentry, plumbing or electrical. These “learn and earn” programs combine classroom or online instruction with on-thejob training that earns participants a regular paycheck.

Hawkeye Community College has 108 business partners and 191 participants in its registered apprenticeship program, more than any other community college in Iowa. It is also the only Iowa community college to offer health care apprenticeships for certified nursing assistants and home health aides.

HCC is participating in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold’s “Future Ready Iowa” initiative to build the state’s skilled workforce. The goal is to have 70% of Iowa’s workforce with an education or training beyond high school.

Alexis Berry, 26, recently completed level one in the CNA apprenticeship at Friendship Village. “I worked as a dietary aide for three or

four years, and now I’ve started a career,” said Berry of Waterloo, a single mom with a 4-year-old daughter.

“I was offered an opportunity to participate in the apprenticeship program and said, ‘Yes, l’d love to join.’ I can work and earn a living while I’m taking classes, and my daughter can go to Friendship Village’s day care program while I’m at work.”

Berry is now a CNA, and in February began the second of three levels of training. She is one of three CNAs in Hawkeye’s partnership with Friendship Village. The program was developed to meet the needs of employers interested in a training program to fulfill the need for health care professionals.

Typically, the employer or registered apprenticeship sponsor pays for the cost of tuition or instruction, eliminating student loan debt for apprentices. In addition to learning and improving skills, as each level is successfully completed, apprentices see their wages rise.

“The program helps us by getting the health care staff we need. There

is a nursing shortage and a CNA shortage — one feeds the other. A really good CNA is looking to be a nurse later on. In order for us to find talented, dedicated nurses, starting out as a CNA finds us people who want to help people,” said Sherry Turner, vice president of health services at Friendship Village.

In addition to Berry, Emma Schaeffer and Rosalinda Rodriguez, both of Waterloo, are participating in the HCC-Friendship Village CNA apprenticeship at level two with an emphasis on hands-on skills.

“I took the CNA course right after high school and went to work at Friendship Village. Now I’m in this program, and I’m very excited. After my first class, I called my parents to tell them I’m loving every minute of it — more than getting my CNA,” said Schaeffer, who plans to become a nurse.

Rodriguez, who has been a CNA since 2017, said the program is valuable career development. She, too, is planning a future career in nursing.

She praised the apprenticeship as “a

good way to learn work skills and the skills you need for everyday life.”

The third level covers training and experience as a restorative aide, such as assisting FV residents with mobility and balance issues, for example, or as a medication aide.

Medication aides are particularly valuable to a facility like Friendship Village, Turner said. “CMAs can help nurses pass basic medications – they can’t do narcotics or injections, but it frees up our nurses.

Certification is gained at the end of level three.”

Knowledge and training are tested throughout each level of the apprenticeship. There also is a competency checklist, said Brenda Helmuth, health continuing education coordinator for business and community education at HCC. Each apprentice also has a mentor and support system at both HCC and Friendship Village. “It’s hard going back to school, and we are 100% behind these apprentices. We want them to succeed.”

THANK YOU

TO OUR WORKERS AND GRADUATES

www.wcfcourier.com/progress | PROGRESS 2020 35

Bright ideas come to life in Waterloo,Iowa Top Cities Poised for Economic Advancement 2020

LendEDU

Opportunity Zones Attractive Incentives Six Business & Industrial Parks Dynamic Downtown Development Call for relocation information 319-291-4301 CityofWaterlooIowa.com

#POSITIVELYWATERLOO