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A manufacturing plant that would build pre-hung doors and serve as a distribution facility for Menard's stores has been proposed on a site near Shelby, officials said Tuesday.
The proposal calls for Midwest Manufacturing to build a 735,000-square-foot facility creating 200 new jobs.
andArea residents can expect to see 200 to 300 new manufacturing jobs come to Pottawattamie County late this year or early in 2007, a local official said.
The county's Board of Supervisors signed a development agreement Wednesday with the interested company to complete the paperwork to get the project under way on county land near Shelby.
Midwest Manufacturing, a division of Menard's Inc., wants to create a three-building manufacturing plant at the southeast corner of the Shelby exit of Interstate 80.
The three buildings would total 735,000 square feet of manufacturing space and create 200 to 300 new jobs, said Lori Holste of the Western Iowa Development Association.
The company plans to build pre-hung doors sold in about 100 Menard's stores.
andHolste said the only paperwork still remaining is for the company to sign the contract, already approved, to purchase the land from its present owner.
When that's done, the company hopes to start construction by early April and have the plant up and running by the end of this year or early next year, she said.
Between 600 and 900 trucks will come and go from the plant each week.
andSHELBY - Construction has started on a new manufacturing plant near Shelby that will eventually employ 300 people.
"They have been moving huge mounds of dirt and leveling off some spots to allow the start of pouring of concrete for the footings," said Lori Holste, executive director of the Western Iowa Development Association. "It is very exciting to see the dirt move and the dust flying. It makes everyone see that the project is going."
"They hope to have everything completed by the end of July 2007," Holste said.
Shelby business owners aren't certain how the new Midwest Manufacturing plant under construction just south of town will impact them, but all say the entire area should benefit.
Shelby County Bank Executive Vice President Dennis Huttman said the estimated 300 jobs being created have to help the local economy.
"They will need services, and the increased traffic should help, especially with items such as gas and food," he said of commuting workers spending money locally.
Paulsen said she has heard a BP gas station and a fast food restaurant are planning to build near her facility.
Shelby Mayor Ron Kroll said he has heard a rumor to that effect, but so far no one has come to the city for a building permit. Like others, Kroll said the plant will be a plus, not only for his town, but also other nearby communities. He said Midwest Manufacturing indicated its past experience indicates locating in a new area spurs other economic development.
With the anticipated September opening of the Menard's/Midwest Manufacturing plant in the northern part of the county near Shelby, at least 20 families currently employed by the company in other states have expressed interest in moving here to work at the new plant, said Lori Holste, director of the Western Iowa Development Association. . .
Approximately 300 new jobs are expected to be available when the plant opens in September, she said.
That's not the only business news developing, Holste said.
Another new company, which she declined to identify at this time, is "seriously looking" at building in Walnut, Holste said, while out-of-state businesses are studying Avoca and Neola for relocations. New business startups are being considered in Shelby and Minden. . .