News

Monday, September 19, 2022

Our community has taken a major step forward in addressing the child care gap in the Greater Dubuque region. Governor Kim Reynolds has awarded $26.6 million through The Child Care Business Incentive Grant to 23 projects across Iowa intended to increase child care opportunities. Three of those projects are in Dubuque County and account for nearly $7 million of the awarded grant. Dubuque Initiatives received $2,158,400 in grant funding and plans to create a Multi-Employer Child Care Center at Dubuque Industrial Center West. Initially offering 120 new child care slots, the facility ultimately plans to offer a maximum of 22...

Existing Business Update: Construction Continues for Major Projects

Friday, September 16, 2022

Existing businesses fuel the growth and resiliency of our region’s economy. That trend is very evident in 2022. Greater Dubuque has had the privilege of working with these businesses as they planned and embarked on major expansions. Dubuque Screw Products Footings are ready at Dubuque Screw Products. The company is investing $2.5 million and adding 28,000 square feet of space to its existing facility in the Dubuque Industrial Center West. The expansion strategy also includes the creation of 10 new jobs. Green Industrial Supply, Inc. Cranes are moving and operational at Green Industrial Supply, Inc. The company plans to add 97,000 square feet, invest almost $8 million, and create 10 new jobs. Klauer Manufacturing Company ...

Major Expansion to Add 97,000 Square Feet of New Space

Friday, July 15, 2022

For the second time in a decade, Green Industrial Supply, Inc. plans to add more space to its location at Dubuque Industrial Center West. Greater Dubuque Development had the privilege of assisting the company with its previous expansion in 2012, which involved building a 142,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and production facility. In its latest expansion plans, Green Industrial Supply, Inc. plans to add 97,000 square feet, invest almost $8 million, and create 10 new jobs. The City of Dubuque approved a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Rebate for the project at its July 18 meeting. Originally founded in 1971, Green Industrial Supply, Inc. manage...

Farley Manufacturer Considering Expansion

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Behnke Enterprises would invest $4.38 million and add 34 high-quality jobs Behnke Enterprises, one of the industry’s leading trailer manufacturers with dealers across the U.S. and Canada, is seeking to increase capacity and jobs at the company’s Farley-based location. Established in 1987, Behnke Enterprises designs and manufactures heavy-duty trailers for the agricultural, construction, heavy haul, utility/telecom, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) markets. Behnke Enterprises is planning and completing due diligence for this project that would invest $4,385,000 and add 34 high-quality jobs in the Farley Industrial Park. The proposed expansion is contingent upon application approvals and assistance from governmental entities, includin...

Camso Manufacturing Expanding Facility and Adding Jobs

Friday, April 15, 2022

Camso Manufacturing USA (a subsidiary of Camso Holdings USA and Michelin North America) announced plans to invest $20 million in its Peosta facility where the company designs, develops, and manufactures specialized components, subsystems, and assemblies for original equipment manufacturers. The expansion includes new equipment to implement a new line and the creation of 33 new jobs.

Dubuque Screw Products to Expand Facility and Workforce

Friday, April 15, 2022

Dubuque Screw Products will invest $2.5 million and add 28,000 square feet of space to its existing facility in the Dubuque Industrial Center West. The company also plans to create 10 new jobs as part of its growth strategy. Founded in 1946, Dubuque Screw Products (DSP) started as a small screw machine job shop and has expanded over the decades. It now manufactures parts and components for a variety of industries and offers world-class precision machining. Greater Dubuque Development worked directly with DSP when they built a new facility and moved to the Dubuque Industrial Center West in 2008. Th...

TriState Quality Metals Investing in a Second Major Expansion

Friday, April 15, 2022

TriState Quality Metals is moving forward with plans to invest $1.75 Million on a new 31,350-square-foot addition to its existing facility. The expansion will also include new machinery, equipment, and technology to better serve the marketplace and increase efficiency. TriState Quality Metals serves as a metal fabrication job shop that offers laser-cutting, CNC bending, saw-cutting, welding, and the powder-coating of metal products. Over the years, it has also added robotic capabilities and quality control technologies. This is the second major expansion for the company this past decade. In 2014, TriState Quality Metals built a new 44,000-squarefoot facility in the Dubuque Industrial Cente...

Rite-Hite to Add a Third Shift

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Rite-Hite Environmental Enclosures, a division of industrial products manufacturer Rite-Hite, announced in January 2022 that it will add a third shift at its Dubuque factory. The company plans to hire approximately 100 manufacturing associates for assembly, industrial sewing, welding and CNC machining to cover the new third shift, as well as bolster the existing first and second shifts. Located in the Dubuque Industrial Center West, the plant was originally built in 1983 and most recently expanded in 2017. The Rite-Hite and DuctSox products manufactured in Dubuque are installed in factories, warehouses, distribution centers and commercial facilities all across the U.S...

Klauer Manufacturing Company Announces Expansion Considerations in Dubuque

Friday, January 14, 2022

Klauer Manufacturing Company announced intentions to expand their existing manufacturing operations in the Kerper Boulevard Industrial Park. The proposed expansion is contingent upon application approvals and assistance from governmental entities, including the City of Dubuque and Iowa Economic Development Authority. The Company would invest over $13 Million on building construction and manufacturing equipment which would expand the existing building by 73,000 square feet. The project allows the Company to increase manufacturing capacity of existing product lines for current and prospective customers. In making the announcement, Michael Klauer, President of Klauer Manufacturing, said, “Our team has successfully maneuvered the challenges o...

Progressive Processing Considers Major Expansion

Friday, January 14, 2022

For the second time in just over two years, Progressive Processing is looking to invest millions of dollars to add capacity and jobs in the Greater Dubuque area. Progressive Processing, the local manufacturing facility owned by Hormel Foods Corporation, is completing the planning and due diligence for a possible project that would invest $43,000,000 and add 38 high-quality jobs in the Dubuque Industrial Center West. The proposed expansion is contingent upon application approvals and assistance from governmental entities, including the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Agreements will be presented at the Dubuque City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 18, and at the Iow...

Greater Dubuque Team Receives Top Award in National Effort

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) based in Arlington, Virginia has announced that Greater Dubuque Development received the award for Top Team Effort for the 2021 Synchronist Business Retention & Expansion Challenge. Greater Dubuque Development competed in a collaborative effort with more than 50 economic development groups and 100-plus professionals in the United States to provide new economic benchmarks. The challenge successfully updated benchmarks providing a point of comparison with participating communities in the U.S. For years, Greater Dubuque Development has conducted its award-winning InfoAction business outreach program—competing in the 2021 CREC Synchronist Business Retention & Expansion Challenge was ...

Zero Zone Announces its Intent to Expand to Dyersville

Friday, September 10, 2021

Since 1961, when it first began operations in a dairy barn in a small town outside Milwaukee, Zero Zone, Inc. has earned the reputation of producing top-of-the-line commercial refrigeration units at competitive prices. Now—60 years later and over 500 employees strong—the company announces plans to expand its operations to Dyersville, Iowa, conditional upon local and state approvals. “Our values are those of the American Midwest,” says Rick Steer, Vice President & General Manager of the Zero Zone Systems Division, based in Ramsey, Minnesota. “Our corporate ownership is Milwaukee based, and operates multiple facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Our mission is t...

Greater Dubuque Development Receives Recognition from Regional Economic Development Council

Monday, May 17, 2021

On Thursday, May 13, 2021, Greater Dubuque Development received two awards from the Mid-America Economic Development Council as part of their virtual Best Practices Conference. We were selected as winners in two categories: Workforce Development and Economic Impact Deal of the Year. The Workforce Development award is in recognition of our College Recruitment Strategy. Starting in 2019, we developed resources and a year-long schedule of events to connect area employers with college students. This includes the Student Employer Connection Guide, Summer Career Services Visit, Talent Dubuque program, and the AccessDubuqueJobs.com College Career and Professional Development Fair. The Economic Impact Deal of the Year recognize...

Greater Dubuque Development Receives Award for Business Retention and Expansion Efforts

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

On March 18, 2021, the Professional Developers of Iowa recognized Greater Dubuque Development for their Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) effort with area College Outreach and Recruitment at the virtual Best of BRE in Iowa Awards. Greater Dubuque Development has a comprehensive BRE program, highlighting a 12-month College Outreach initiative with the purpose of connecting employers with a pipeline of skilled talent now and into the future. As a result of their efforts, this program has created thousands of student-employer interactions through job fairs, an intern engagement program, Employer Connection Guides and more. The PDI Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Award...

Simmons Pet Foods Moves Forward With Project in Dubuque

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Simmons Foods is moving forward with plans to develop the former Flexsteel facility at 501 Seippel Road for a new pet food manufacturing operation in the Dubuque Industrial Center South. Simmons is the sixth-largest pet food manufacturer in the United States, producing both dry and wet food products. The project includes plans to hire 138 workers in the first phase and a total 271 new employees over the next three years with an average starting wage of $22.18. The project has qualified and approved for both state and local incentives. In reviewing the project, consideration was given to the potential for strong odors. Greate...

Broadband Expansion Initiative Receives Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award

Friday, October 23, 2020

On October 15, 2020, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awarded the Broadband Expansion initiative with the Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award. The program was recognized in the category of Resiliency, Recovery, and Mitigation—submissions had to represent a successful recovery from a natural or man-made disaster and/or represent replicable measures undertaken to promote long-term resiliency in the event of future disaster. Starting in 2016, Dave Lyons, Sustainable Innovations Consultant for Greater Dubuque Development, worked with the City of Dubuque to build new partnerships in public and private sectors to expand the broadband network and increase providers. Part of the strateg...

Greater Dubuque Receives BEST of Iowa Excellence Award

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

On January 10th, 2020, Business Expansion and Strategic Trends (BEST) released their annual report and BEST of Iowa Excellence Awards. BEST is a collaboration of local economic development groups, Alliant Energy, Black Hills Energy, the Iowa Area Development Group, MidAmerican Energy, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The collaborative focuses on strengthening policies and programs that support Iowa businesses and communities. The annual report is a compilation and analysis of Synchronist business interviews conducted throughout the year. In 2019, 800 interviews were conducted across 66 counties in Iowa. Greater Dubuque Development received a BEST of Iowa Excellence Award for goin...

Two Leading Dubuque Employers Announce Plans to Jointly Purchase the Roshek Building

Monday, December 16, 2019

On November 29th, 2019, Cottingham & Butler and Heartland Financial USA announced plans to purchase the Roshek Building at 700 Locust Street in downtown Dubuque. The two companies have formed a partnership, Roshek Property LLC, in order to make the purchase from Dubuque Initiatives. Together, they have plans to invest an additional $2.85 million to improve the building for their respective operations. They have collectively committed to creating at least 32 new full-time jobs through the project. Cottingham & Butler is the 25th largest insurance broker in the country, employing more than 700 individuals in Dubuque. They currently have offices acros...

Workforce Solutions Team Receives Regional Recognition

Monday, December 16, 2019

In early December, Greater Dubuque Development received recognition from two separate regional organizations for our Workforce Solutions team. The Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) selected our Career Services Visit initiative as the winner of the “Best in the Midwest” in the Workforce Development category at the 2019 Economic Development Awards ceremony held December 9th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. This prestigious award considered programs in 12 states in communities with populations over 50,000. Kristin Dietzel, Vice President of Workforce Solutions, accepted the award on behalf of Greater Dubuque Development. The awards are part of the annual Mid-America Competitivenes...

Greater Dubuque Area Receives National Recognition for Corporate Facility Investments

Friday, March 15, 2019

On March 4, 2019, Greater Dubuque Development and the Greater Dubuque area were recognized again by Site Selection Magazine with the Big Muddy Cup. The award is given to the leading metro area along the entire Mississippi River in per-capita corporate facility investments. Greater Dubuque Development was involved with 12 projects that qualified for the award, including the relocation of Flexsteel Industries’ manufacturing facility to the Dubuque Industrial Center South, Medline Industries’ relocation within the Dubuque Industrial Center West, and the Camso expansion in Peosta. The projects’ value per capita in the Greater Dubuque area exceeded those of metros includin...

Greater Dubuque Development Communications Receive International Recognition

Monday, October 15, 2018

The Greater Dubuque Development Corporation received both Gold and Silver Excellence in Economic Development Awards for the 2016-2017 Annual Report and "You Can Make It In Greater Dubuque" promotional piece, respectively. The awards were presented by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 2 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Congratulations to Emily Graves, Director of Communications, for her internationally recognized work.